The Flashback Chronicles of Team 8
by Sieby
Summary: A loner, until an encounter with Kiba Inuzuka changes his life. A look into the past at the ninja academy, where three students discover and develop true friendship in a collection of humourous stories that make up the insane childhood of Shino.
1. Chapter 1: A Friend in Need is A Friend

**Chapter 1: A Friend in Need, Is a Friend Indeed**

Once upon a time, there was a boy. A boy who just so happened to be filled with thousands, upon thousands of insects. This boy had a problem, as most people tend to. His problem was his lack of friends. Sometimes he wondered if it was the bugs, but he didn't think so. After all, he had lived with them his entire life and they had never done anything to him. Perhaps it was his abnormally deep voice? But he thought that didn't matter. It could have been his lack of happy expression. His constant frown made him rather hard to approach, but there were other children with equally frowning faces and yet people would approach them. It did not make any sense to him. He just didn't understand. But whatever the case, Shino just didn't have any friends. 

Life went on, and Shino became accustomed to doing things alone. Unlike normal children with no friends, Shino did not think up an imaginary friend, because he believed that people were a bother to him. He lived in a world of his own, an uninterrupted world filled with silence, and bugs. Lots of bugs. Actually, because of the bugs, there was no silence. Instead there was buzzing. Lots of buzzing. And today that buzzing sounded suspiciously like, "Hey! Glasses man!" Shino thought of that as particularly odd, considering his bugs don't usually say things like that. "Hey! Glasses man!" they said again, and it was at that he realized that it wasn't his bugs speaking to him. It was someone else, someone outside his world of bugs and buzzing. 

Shino was rather confused. No one usually talked to him, why should today be any different? Yet, he turned to at least see who it was. It was a boy, much shorter than himself, with red triangular-shaped markings on his face. Shino was not sure how to respond to this other boy; perhaps he should attack him with bugs and then make a run for it—but he thought better of it. He decided to respond like any normal person would: "Why are you speaking to me?" he said. Okay, so maybe he DIDN'T respond like a normal person, but what can I say? He's out of practice. 

"I have a question," this boy said, apparently unfazed by Shino's previous comment, "Do you wear your sunglasses at night?" 

"What?" said Shino at a loss for words at the moment. 

"Do you wear your sunglasses at night?" he repeated. 

Shino felt that he better answer the question so as to get rid of the boy so that he could get back to his fantasy world of buzzing and bugs. "Yes," said Shino. 

"Wow!" said the boy, "Don't you bump into things? My mom doesn't let _ME_ wear my sunglasses at night, because I bump into things! I remember one time that I….." at this point Shino had fazed him out and gone back to his bugs and buzzing. But unfortunately he was rudely interrupted by someone yelling in his face, "Isn't that INTERESTING!?" 

"Why haven't you left yet?" asked Shino. 

"YOU'RE COOL! Let's be friends!" said the boy. 

"No" said Shino in self-defense. He had realized that being friends might not be such a good idea… 

"Nonsense! My name's Kiba!" said the boy, who will now be known as Kiba. 

"…" said Shino, for he seemed to be at a loss of words—again. 

"AND YOUR NAME IS?" shouted Kiba, obnoxiously. 

"...Shino" said Shino, who was still wondering why this boy was so persistent. 

"Wow! We are going to be the best of friends!" said Kiba, throwing his arm around Shino's neck and nearly strangling him to death. 

Shino was about to respond by saying "no" and shoving this strange boy to the ground, when the bell rang, and it was time for class. Talk about saved by the bell! 

"See you in class, buddy!" Kiba said as he departed for class, waving excitedly, and Shino just stood there looking stupid. Shino was quite sure that he would never see this boy again, and that he would forever be left in peace and solitude, but oh, how wrong he was. 


	2. Chapter 2: Secret Club

Chapter 2: Secret Club Chapter 2: Secret Club

Weeks went by before Shino saw this mysterious boy again. Actually, it was just the next day, at recess to be exact.

"HI MY BESTEST BUDDY!" Kiba shouted ever so loudly as he came running up to the unexpecting Shino. And why was Shino unexpecting? It was because he had NEVER expected to meet or talk to this boy ever again.

" Guess what!!" Kiba shouted, very loudly.

"What?" said Shino to both the comment AND the fact that Kiba was running up to him and calling him his 'bestest buddy".

"I have a great idea!" said Kiba excitedly, "We are going to start a Secret Club!!"

"What?" said Shino dumbly.

"A SECRET CLUB!!" shouted Kiba as loud as he could, even though Shino was standing right next to him.

Shino was stupefied for the moment because of all the yelling. After that moment was over, the only thing he could think to say was, "If it's a secret, then why are you yelling?" Maybe, with this comment, Shino was trying to prevent further incidents of yelling in which he was almost blown away—but we will never know.

"Oh!" said Kiba, unable to believe the intelligence of Shino, "So as I was saying, I think we should start a Secret Club! Just you and me! I can be the president and you can be the vice president—"

"Kiba," interrupted Shino, "you can't have a club with only two members."

"You're right!!" said Kiba, as though he had just had a revelation, "We can get a whole bunch of people to join…"

At this point Shino had stopped listening, again. This time, however, he did not go into his fantasy world of bugs and buzzing, because he had realized that he had made a HUGE mistake. Who knows what the people who joined the club would be like? He could just picture a million Kiba clones jumping on him and calling him 'bestest buddy'. And he DEFINITELY didn't want that! He wasn't even sure if he could get himself out of this.

"No." said Shino.

"AWW! But it'll be fun!" said Kiba, "Here! See? I'll get someone to join RIGHT NOW!!" Kiba then did just as he said. He walked over to the first person he laid eyes on, a timid looking girl with short navy blue hair, and completely white eyes.

"Would you come with me?" Kiba asked in the most serious tone he could possibly achieve. (Which was not all that serious, as you might have guessed.)

Once they got over to where Shino was standing, Kiba said in even more serious tones, "Hinata, will you join our Secret Club?" He wiggled his eyebrows for dramatic effect.

Hinata, for of course it was she, is the type of person who always tries her hardest NEVER to be mean to or refuse or disappoint ANYONE (which is quite the opposite of the type of person Shino thought that Kiba would choose), but MOST OF ALL tries not to disappoint or upset her father. Hinata, caught between pleasing her father and pleasing her classmates was unsure of what to say or how to respond.

"…I don't know… what would my father say?" Hinata said quietly, mostly to herself but loud enough so that Kiba and Shino could hear.

"Oh! C'MON!! It'll be fun!!" said Kiba, not unkindly, but yelling once again.

"Okay..." said Hinata, still not wanting to disappoint ANYONE.

"Yahoo!!" yelled Kiba, jumping up and down and punching the sky.

"…" said Shino, glad that the new member was NOTHING like Kiba, but wondering what will happen when the club meetings come—speaking of which!

"ALRIGHTY!!" said Kiba, "We'll have our first meeting TODAY!!"

"…But where?" said Shino, realizing at once the problem.

"Uhhhh…." Said Kiba, "I dunno…. OH! I know EXACTLY where!!"

"Where… and when?" asked Hinata, wanting to make sure she got the place and time right so she didn't look foolish.

"Meet me here, in front of the Academy, after school and I will take you to our Secret Club's meeting place!" said Kiba excitedly.

"…" said Shino, because he was confused. Not about the place or time, but about the fact that no one seemed to take his opinion into account. And the truth is he never wanted to be in this club in the first place, especially since he hardly knew these crazy people. Well, he didn't know about the girl, but he was definitely sure that Kiba was crazy.

As though she was psychic, Hinata turned to Shino and immediately introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Hinata." Said Hinata, "Pleased to meet you."

Shino, not exactly sure what to say said, "Hello."

Hinata waited for him to introduce himself, but when he didn't she decided that she would ask him. "What's your name?" Hinata asked, not wanting to be rude, but wanting to know her fellow club members' names. She already knew Kiba seeing as they sit next to each other during class, but she had no idea who Shino was.

"Shino." said Shino.

"Okay, well then nice to meet you Shino" said Hinata, ever so politely.

"…" Shino did not respond.

Just then the bell rang…. talk about saved by the bell, AGAIN!! And so all the little children ran off to class, except for Shino who was standing there… unsure of what the future would bring.


	3. Chapter 3: Lunchtime Havoc

Chapter 3: Lunchtime Havoc 

Shino eventually went to class, but it took him a second to think things over… about this whole 'Secret Club' thing. In fact, he was thinking about it all day. He thought about it all through class and all through lunch and all through… whenever. Normally, Shino didn't obsess over small things such as this. It was very disconcerting.

In fact, he was still thinking about it when Hinata tried to sit next to him during lunch. I guess she figured that she should get to know more than just her club-mates' names, if they were going to be 'hanging-out'.

"Good afternoon… Shino" Hinata said timidly as she sat down next to him. She daintily unfolded her lunchbox, and inside was a nice well prepared lunch—she was a Main House member, after all.

Shino wasn't used to having people repeatedly bothering him, so he didn't say anything. For all he knew, she could have been talking to SOME OTHER Shino in the class. So he merely remained silent as he opened his lunchbox.

Hinata peered over Shino's shoulder and asked, "What are you having for lunch—"

When just then, a whole bunch of bugs swarmed out of his lunchbox and into his coat, causing Hinata to jump with fright!

"OH!" exclaimed Hinata, thoroughly alarmed. After all, that sort of stuff NEVER happens in the MAIN HOUSE!

"A sandwich," said Shino, clearly unfazed, after all, this stuff happens all the time in the ABURAME CLAN. He adjusted his sunglasses, and he finished opening his lunchbox to reveal: a sandwich. How anti-climatic.

Hinata was VERY scared of Shino, after all, all she knew about him was that his name was Shino and his lunchbox was filled with bugs! She wanted to leave but she didn't want to be RUDE. So she stayed… being VERY quiet. When all of a sudden—

"HEY GUYS!" said Kiba as he jumped right into the middle of an already awkward silence—talk about saved by the...KIBA! "Do you guys have any lunch?" he asked, as though nothing had happened before he had arrived, "Because I had a TOTALLY AWESOME lunch, but Kuromaru ATE it because I pulled on his tail the other day! It was REVENGE I say! REVENGE!!!"

Both Shino and Hinata were wondering the exact same thing: who is this Kuromaru fellow and WHY exactly did he have a TAIL?! Now, they had NO IDEA what kind of genetic defects Kiba's relatives might have, and Hinata was too scared to inquire. Fortunately enough, Shino was not in possession of enough social graces to realize that he really _should not_ ask such a question. So he asked it.

"Why do your relatives have tails?" Shino asked, quite rudely.

"O-oh! Oh my!" exclaimed Hinata, who did know better than to ask such a RUDE question to a nearly complete stranger.

"WELL," said Kiba, totally missing the rudeness of the question, "Kuromaru actually isn't my relative at all!"

"Then who is he?" Shino inquired further.

"He's a dog! All of us Inuzukas have dogs! Didn't you know?

"…Then why don't you have a dog?" asked Shino, who did indeed have a suspicious look on his face—not that you could tell! It's hidden!!

"…Because… b-because…" but he was overcome by sorrow and couldn't complete his sentence. As Kiba's eyes filled up with tears, Shino almost felt sorry for him—ALMOST.

Hinata, who indeed _did_ feel sorry for him, went over and patted him awkwardly on the shoulder. Her father didn't want her touching strange boys, but Kiba was her friend, right? Right?!

Shino raised an eyebrow. The scene looked like a television drama, not that he watched them.

Kiba, after having finished his little cry, then took the edge of Shino's coat and BLEW HIS NOSE ON IT!!!

Shino, overcome by his fury at being used like a mere Kleenex, promptly screamed.

"KIIIIBA!!!!!" he shouted quite loudly—which actually isn't very loud—and as a result, caught the attention of the Lunch Supervisor. Now, the term 'Lunch Supervisor' is really just a fancy title for 'The Poor Student Teacher that the Real Teachers Forced to look after The Small Children While they eat their Lunches.' And the lucky student teacher just so happened to be… Iruka!

Now Iruka, being the 'lucky' student teacher he is, having the job of 'Lunchtime Supervisor', decided it was his duty to keep lunchtime as orderly as possible. However, keeping a room full of rowdy six-year-olds orderly—future ninjas or not—was no mean feat. And if one started to yell, he was worried that it would cause a chain reaction, and he didn't want that! So, with this in mind he immediately rushed over to the scene of the crime.

"What's the matter?" demanded Iruka, using his ultimate 'I Am The Teacher' voice!

Kiba sniffled pitifully, Shino glared at Kiba, and Hinata stood there looking nervous.

Kiba sniffled again and pointed—right at…Shino!!!

Iruka, having his amazing teacher-ly psychic powers, immediately assumed that the situation was thus: there was a bully in town!

"Shino!" said Iruka, looking as menacing as he can get (which isn't very menacing at all), "Stop bullying your fellow classmates!!!" Obviously Iruka hasn't taken that course in teacher's school yet. You know, the one that teaches you to be constructive and not yell at your pupils?

Shino now turned his glare upon Irkua, while Hinata was still looking nervous, and Kiba was STILL sniffling pitifully. Kiba, since his nose was STILL running because of the constant sniffling, reached over and began to use HINATA'S sleeve as a Kleenex!

"O-oh!" said Hinata. How could she POSSIBLY explain this to her father?

Iruka looked confusedly at the students. Nothing like this was EVER outlined in his teacher's manual!

Shino said nothing, but merely…PUNCHED Kiba in the…SHOULDER!!!

Iruka was only able to stand there looking awestruck. NOTHING like this EVER was outlined in his teacher's manual!! Why couldn't this happen when Aoba was on duty?!

"S-Shino!!" he stammered.

Hinata wasn't sure if she should be glad that her sleeve wasn't getting slobbered on, or sad that Kiba just got punched in the shoulder! On one hand she would have to explain to her father why her sleeve was covered in snot, while on the other hand she would have to explain to her father how she ended up in a fight! Oh my!

Iruka finally overcame his surprise and knew what to do!

"Shino," he said sharply, "You are coming with me, to detention!"

Kiba sniffed again and decided to use his OWN sleeve as a Kleenex. Finally he said, "I guess club'll have to be postponed 'till tomorrow."

Shino was only able to glare at Kiba as he was lead off to detention.

It was the start to a BEAUTIFUL friendship!!


	4. Chapter 4: Anger

Chapter 4: Anger 

Shino was FUMING as he entered the detention room with Iruka. He was so angry you could just picture smoke coming off of his head, and then him exploding. Speaking of which, he really WAS on the verge of exploding—with rage, that is. After all, Kiba did get him in trouble.

Of course, all of this stuff was happening on the INSIDE! His face—which was lacked a happy expression in the first place—had only changed by his eyebrows angling ever so slightly. Talk about pent up rage!

In fact, Shino's rage was the strongest it had been in his entire life! It was so strong that you could sense it seeping out of him if you were close enough—which Iruka was—causing Iruka to back away in TERROR!!! Yes, FEAR the Shino!!!

Okay, maybe I over exaggerated a little bit, but Shino WAS mad. Iruka really didn't back away in terror, and you SO could not feel anger seeping out of Shino.

Once they entered the detention room, Iruka said to Shino I his 'I Am In Charge' voice, "This is your first time in here and I hope it will be your last! And since you have never been here before I will tell you the rules: no talking, no leaving until I say so, no chewing gum, and NO TALKING!" Iruka finished his sentence louder than he started it, seeing as NONE of his students have very long attention spans so they usually tune him out and he usually has to bring them down to earth.

Most of these rules suited Shino just fine, he didn't want to leave and have to talk to Kiba, he didn't like to chew gum, and there was no one to talk to anyway!

Iruka continued, "You are to stay here, and sit at that desk 'till the end of lunch!" Here Iruka indicated the desk that Shino would spend his detention, "Then you will go back to class, and come back here after school! AND I will call your father! Stay here! No 'ands' 'ifs' or 'buts'! And certainly no butts!"

Shino had never been in the detention room before, but he could already tell that it would be a QUIET place. So, he sat at his assigned desk, and started to do what he hadn't been able to do in a while: Shino went to his fantasy world of bugs and buzzing. In this fantasy world, however, of bugs and buzzing, there was one more new thing: Shino's anger.

Shino was obviously angry at a few people and for a few reasons. Shino was angry at Kiba for getting him into detention, Shino was mad at Iruka for putting him in detention, and Shino was angry at Iruka for thinking of phoning his father! Shino was angry in general! He had plenty of time to think about it too! Oh, the REVENGE!

As soon as lunch was over, Iruka came to tell Shino to go back to class—which Shino did without a struggle—although he did make sure to glare at Iruka from behind his sunglasses for good measure.

As Shino entered the classroom, only the odd person would turn their head and look at him. The rest of the children didn't seem too notice, after all it's not like ANY of them knew, or were concerned about him. And he didn't really care for hem either, so I guess that evened things out rather nicely.

As Shino made for his seat, he looked around the room for the only to people he knew: Kiba and Hinata. He saw them at the back of the class—they do sit next to each other after all—and glared at Kiba. Kiba—who unfortunately possesses a very bad memory—had completely forgotten about the havoc at lunch, and so was unsure of why Shino was glaring at him. Being not too smart, Kiba smiled and waved! This caused Shino to glare EVEN MORE—if that was even possible! This confused Kiba, so he gave a questioning gaze. This caused Shino to GLARE EVEN MORE, and then turn and sit down.

This confused Kiba EVEN MORE! So, he turned to look at Hinata beside him only to find her looking nervous, as usual! Some help she was!

All of this, of course, happened in a matter of seconds, but it was enough to leave Shino even angrier, Kiba confused, and Hinata, well, nervous-er.

Then Iruka called attention to the front of the class—talk about saved by the Iruka—and everyone went to work… well, sort of. After all, no one listens to Iruka because he is not very demanding and he is ONLY the Student Teacher.

Kiba was still ever so confused as to why Shino was mad at him, so after class Kiba confronted him about it.

"Shino, why are you mad at me?" Kiba asked.

Shino merely glared.

"Well?" asked Kiba further, "Why?"

At this moment Shino lost control of his anger and punched Kiba—again—in the face this time! Kiba fell to the floor, and Shino walked away to detention. Kiba merely looked confused, and hurt. Well, he thought that Shino MUST have a good reason, but that reason wasn't apparent to him. He figured that Shino will be cooled off enough by tomorrow, so when Hinata walked up he said, "I think we'll have club tomorrow after school!"

Hinata merely said, "O-Okay."

And Shino walked to detention feeling slightly better, having punched Kiba in the face to get rid of some of his anger. Perhaps he WOULD be cooled off enough to go to club tomorrow.

Even though he would probably forget, Kiba would DEFINITELY have the bruises to show that he should never make Shino angry, ever again.


	5. Chapter 5: Forgetful?

Chapter 5: Forgetful? 

Shino's father didn't even speak to him about getting into detention. After all, the Aburame family wasn't famous for it's long speeches or talks. If it wasn't famous for talking in general, then the fact that his son yelled meant it must have been for a good reason. So therefore it was ignored.

Shino came to a realization that night, and the realization was thus: Kiba was far too stupid to understand the situation—or remember the situation—so therefore he shouldn't bother being angry over such matters.

So, the next day Shino was calm—for once! So when he met Kiba that morning—whom he doubted had remembered anything—he was able to say 'good morning' very nicely.

"Good morning," said Shino very nicely.

Now I know I said 'very nicely', but we are speaking in Shino standards. So, when Shino said 'good morning' very nicely, it could have mistaken by ANYONE to have been said very angrily or very grumpily. Just had to put in some clarification for you.

"Good morning!" said Kiba louder than was truly necessary.

Shino was right indeed about Kiba not remembering what had happened yesterday.

"How are you on this fine day!? Ol' buddy, ol'pal?!" asked Kiba.

"…" said Shino, which meant that Shino didn't say anything at all. Now, why did not say anything at all? Well, there were two reasons for that. One: it was absolutely pouring rain, so therefore it could hardly be called a 'fine day', and two: Shino was not sure how to respond to being called 'ol'buddy, ol' pal'.

Ignoring his lack of comment Kiba continued, "It's such a nice day! I LOVE the rain! I think we'll have our first meeting after school TODAY! And do you see this bruise on my face? And the one on my shoulder? I don't know where I got them, but it must have been a fearsome battle!"

Shino was surprised by the change of subject, but he also felt a tad bit guilty. He was the one who had punched Kiba and given him those bruises. But oh well, as long as he couldn't remember who did it then Shino was safe.

Just then Hinata walked up carrying her pink umbrella.

"Good morning…" Hinata said very nicely, and, just for further clarification, when Hinata says something very nicely it means VERY nicely. After all, she IS Hinata.

"Good morning!" said Kiba.

"Good morning," said Shino.

"Did you see any suspicious looking characters lately? Some crazed ninjas attacked me in my sleep! Look at all the bruises I have! It was SUCH a fearsome battle!" said Kiba excitedly, building on his story.

"U-um…" said Hinata because she really knew the cause of the bruises, which was in fact Shino! Hinata then looks at Shino as though expecting him to tell the truth, although probably thinking something along the lines of: How can someone forget something like that? Hinata decided to tell Kiba what really happened.

"U-um…" Hinata started quietly, "Well, Kiba… um, you see—"

Just then the bell rang indicating it was time for class, talk about saved by the bell—again!

"Well, it's time for class!" said Kiba loudly before he ran full tilt towards the school, leaving Hinata and Shino to stare in disbelief.

Then Shino turned to Hinata and said, "Don't bother."

Hinata looked at him in doubt, how could he just not tell Kiba what really happened? Even though he shouldn't have to because Kiba should have remembered—but that's not the point!

"It's better this way," Shino said as he started towards the school.

Hinata wasn't sure if that was really the case.

After school they stood in the exact same spot that they had stood that very morning—they, of course, meaning Shino and Hinata. Only they weren't waiting for school to start, they were waiting for Kiba to arrive. He was late and it was STILL raining. What? You don't recall that it was ever raining? Well it was.

Hinata stood there holding her pink umbrella. Shino stood in the rain. Both were silent. Hinata noticed the silence and thought that Shino might think she was ignoring him and being rude! Oh, no!

"U-um, nice weather we're having…" said Hinata, even though the weather was TOTALLY not nice.

Shino looked at Hinata. And although you can't SEE it from behind the sunglasses, you could SO feel the glare.

You see, because he is filled with thousands, upon thousands of bugs he is not very good with water… so the rain was definitely not helping his mood. After all, bugs are definitely NOT water resistant.

Hinata was definitely feeling intimidated by the glare she was receiving. And she knew why, it's because she wasn't sharing the umbrella! Oh dear! Oh my! How could she be so selfish and not notice! Oh no! She knew she must right this wrong!

"U-um… Shino," Hinata started, "You can… come under the umbrella…"

"…" said Shino, which means he really didn't say anything, but he did go underneath the umbrella. After all she did offer so it would be kind of stupid to turn down the offer.

And so they waited.

And waited.

And, you guessed it: waited.

Why was Kiba late? What was he doing that could POSSIBLY make him late? And—wait! There he was, running up to them.

"HEY!!! GUYS!!!" he yelled, "I ALMOST forgot about club! But then I remembered! Amazing, huh?"

"Um…" said Hinata in a state of disbelief, how could someone forget about a club they are HOSTING? Of course, this IS Kiba we are talking about.

"Where is the meeting, you want to know?! Well, that you will know very soon! Follow me!" and so Kiba led the way to the first EVER Club Meeting.


	6. Chapter 6: Ambulance

**Chapter 6: Ambulance**

The three of them walked onto the shuriken training field. Where, you guessed it: many ninjas were practicing with shuriken. Why do ninjas practice in the rain? I do not know. And yes, if you have failed to remember, it is STILL raining.

Kiba frolicked over into the middle of the training field. "THIS IS THE SPOT!!!" he yelled excitedly, and promptly sat down in a puddle.

"Um…" said Hinata, looking at the large puddle.

"…" said Shino, which means that he really didn't say ANYTHING at ALL.

Hinata and Shino both walked over to where Kiba sat, avoiding all of the shuriken that were being thrown.

Hinata looked at the puddle nervously. Did Kiba REALLY expect her to sit in it? And if she did what would her FATHER say?! But if she didn't she might insult Kiba, who was ever so nice as to let her join his club. Oh, of all the dilemmas!

Shino glared at Kiba as if he insulted him by sitting down in the puddle. Shino glared at the puddle for being wet. And Shino glared at the sky for even THINKING about raining. Oh, Shino glared! After all, Shino does not like water.

Reluctantly, and uncertain of if she was doing the right thing, Hinata sat down in the puddle.

" I think I'll stand." said Shino, as he did just that!

"O-oh!" exclaimed Hinata, looking from Kiba to Shino, worrying that Kiba would feel insulted by this.

"Suit yourself." Said Kiba as he shrugged, not feeling insulted in the least.

Hinata felt silly because she realized that Kiba didn't really care and now she would have to go home with a wet bum and explain to her father why she was sitting in a puddle.

"NOW," said Kiba, "LET US COMMENCE THE FIRST CLUB MEE—"just then his speech was abruptly cut short by him getting hit in the head by a shuriken that had missed its target ENTIRELY. Kiba fell to the ground.

"OH MY!!! K-KIBA!!! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!" Hinata screamed. It was the loudest she has ever spoken before!

"It's just a flesh wound!" said Kiba. Then Kiba blacked out.

At this point Shino was probably thinking some thing along the lines of: "Well that's one way to shut him up."

Just then a girl in a pink shirt with brown hair came running up.

"OH MY GOD!!! I KILLED HIM!!!" she screamed.

Hinata fainted at the mere thought of him being dead and the mere sight of blood.

"OH MY GOD!!! CALL AN AMBULENCE!!!! OR A MEDIC NINJA!!! OR SOMEONE!!!" the girl yelled as she started running around in a panic.

Shino walked—yes he walked, he didn't run—over to the payphone that happened to be right beside the training field. He dialed in the number that ALL little children should know: 911.

The phone started to ring on the other line, and then there was a voice, "Hello? How may I help you?"

It was then that Shino wondered what he was doing. He hated talking. He hated it almost as much as he hated the rain. But it was life or death right? Maybe not for him, but for Kiba.

"We need an ambulance." then Shino paused and looked over at Hinata who was lying in the puddle and was possibly in shock. "Make that two ambulances. At the academy training field."

"Well okay then. We'll send them right away!" said the voice on the other end of the line.

Shino hung up the phone and walked back over to where Hinata, the girl in a pink shirt with brown hair, and Kiba were. The girl was still freaking out, Hinata was lying in the puddle, and Kiba was OBVIOUSLY unconscious.

Within a few minutes two ambulances arrived. Followed by two fire trucks and two police cars. Remember that when you call 911 you get EVERYONE. Except for a florist.

The medic ninjas hopped out of the ambulance and rushed over to Kiba's side, immediately putting him on a stretcher. Then looked at Hinata, shrugged, and put her on one also. The quickly rushed the stretchers over to two separate ambulances. Shino went in Hinata's and the girl went with Kiba, sobbing that she killed him and that it was all her fault. The ambulances immediately zoomed away leaving dust clouds EVEN though it was raining.

The firemen and police stood there dumbstruck. What was the point of calling them? Well whatever. They decided to zoom away also because after all they had fires to fight and people to arrest.

In a matter of minutes they had arrived at the hospital. Kiba and Hinata were rushed into the ER. And for those of you who don't know what 'ER' means: it means Emergency Room.

Shino and the girl walked out of the ambulance and were led to a waiting room. It was full of bright, primary colours and kiddy toys. The girl sat down in a chair. She was still sniffling pitifully. Shino sat down next to her.

All of a sudden she started to wail loudly.

And she didn't stop.

Finally Shino had had enough. He stood up and shouted, "SHUT UP!!!" I know that Shino doesn't usually shout, but he was EXTREMELY annoyed.

She stopped crying abruptly. Well that shut HER up. She then regained her composure. "I'm sorry. I lost control." Said the girl.

Shino didn't say anything in reply. He didn't HAVE anything to say to her. She was annoying and she was giving him a headache. He was glad he had gotten into a different ambulance than her.

"Sooo…" she said when no conversation was forthcoming, "My name's Tenten. What about you?"

Shino had preferred her silent rather then talking. He was about to smite her with thousands of bugs when a nurse/medic ninja came in and said, "Good news Mr. Smith, the baby is born and healthy"—then she looked around and only saw Shino and Tenten.

"You're not Mr. Smith!" she said accusingly, as though it was their fault.

She then turned and left in a huff. Shino and Tenten looked at each other.

Almost immediately after, another nurse/medic ninja burst through the door.

"Good news," she said cheerfully, "it looks like your friends will make a full recovery! You may go and see them now if you like! Follow me."

They both got up and followed her through the door.

Maybe this is when Tenten decided that she would improve her aim so that she would NEVER miss her target ever again.


	7. Chapter 7: Parents

Chapter 7: Parents 

Shino and Tenten were led into the hospital room that Kiba and Hinata had been transferred to by the nurse. This room was NOT the ER, but in the children's ward. The walls in this room were JUST as brightly coloured as the ones in the waiting room.

There was one bed in this room, and Kiba was lying on it. On the opposite side of the room there was a chair with Hinata sitting on it. Obviously Hinata was fine since she had merely fainted. Kiba was slightly worse for wear—the side of Kiba's head was wrapped in bandages. Other than that he was smiling from ear to ear.

Hinata and Kiba looked up, when the three of them walked in. The nurse went over to Kiba and began to question him for information regarding his address and phone number. Since Kiba seemed busy with the nurse, Shino and Tenten meandered over to Hinata.

"H-hello!" Hinata said quietly to the two of them. And then she was silent. She was thinking of what her father would say to her upon finding out that she had somehow ended up in the hospital AND her bum was wet.

Then, to fill up the silence Tenten decided to introduce herself. "Hello!" said Tenten, "My name is Tenten!"

"N-nice to meet you! My name is Hinata Hyuuga," replied Hinata, and then was silent again. She didn't want to be rude, but she was thinking that she should probably call her father to tell him where she was.

Just then the nurse left the room. Hinata got up, and the three of them walked across the room to where Kiba was.

"Hello!" said Kiba cheerfully. It's not like he was going to yell like usual after he had just had an operation.

"…" said Shino. He had probably filled up his quota for talking for today, what with all the shouting and calling an ambulance or two.

"Apparently my operation was a success!!!" Kiba exclaimed loudly.

"…I would ask if you have brain damage, but I knew you already did," remarked Shino.

…I guess he didn't fill up his talking quota just quite yet.

"O-oh! Oh my!" gasped Hinata. How could someone say something so rude?

Tenten gasped…in awe.

"So," continued Kiba, not hearing what Shino had said at all, "The nurse wanted to know my phone number because she has to call my Mom and inform her of my terrible, fatal injury."

Hinata was probably thinking something along the lines of: "How could he NOT notice he was being insulted?" But more importantly he had reminded her about going to phone her father.

"E-excuse me, but I need to go and call my father." Hinata murmured politely.

"Okay, see you when you get back." replied Kiba.

Hinata quickly left the room.

Tenten was standing there, looking like she was about to cry.

…And she did.

"I AM SO SORRY!!!" she wailed. "I PROMISE YOU ON YOUR DEATHBED THAT I WILL IMPROVE MY AIM SO THAT I WILL NEVER MISS MY TARGET SO LONG AS I LIVE!!!" she pledged.

With that she ran from the room with tears running down her face.

...I guess she DID decide to improve her aim. And I suppose this explains why she has no IDEA who he is during the chuunin exams... she thinks he's dead? Right. That works.

"He's not dying…" Shino remarked after a moment of silence. Perhaps he really SHOULD have killed her in the waiting room when he had the chance.

"Hahahaha…" laughed Kiba, "She was a complete weirdo!!!"

At this point, Shino was probably thinking how awkward it was for someone like KIBA to call ANYONE weird. Although, admittedly, she WAS annoying.

MEANWHILE!!!

"Hello?" said Hinata's father on the other line.

"H-hello father!" Hinata said nervously.

"Hinata!? Where are you!!! You were supposed to be home 4 hours 27 minutes and 43 seconds ago!!! WHERE ARE YOU!!!" Hinata's father shouted angrily.

"U-um! I'm at the hospital," said Hinata.

"What were you doing!? As the heir to our clan's Main House you are expected to be…" he trailed off.

Hinata was silent, unsure of what was to come.

"What hospital did you say you were at? The Hyuuga Main House Private Hospital?" demanded Hinata's father on the other line.

"N-no! The Konoha General Hospital." Hinata said.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment.

"I am coming to get you at once," and without waiting for a reply, he hung up the phone.

Hinata hung up her phone as well. She hoped he did not think she was in mortal peril. She started hurrying down the hall towards Kiba's room, but before she got there she saw two angry women and dogs barking at the secretary.

…The two women weren't barking, just the dogs. I just thought I'd clear that up.

One woman was more masculine, with short spiky hair, and the other one was more feminine, with long hair in a ponytail. The interesting thing was that they had red markings on their faces, which looked AWFULLY familiar…

"What do you MEAN!?!" yelled the more feminine woman.

Hinata tried to think where she had seen those markings before…

"I meant exactly what I said. I cannot release personal information about the patients," said the secretary, sounding quite annoyed.

Think. Was it someone at school?

"MY SON IS IN THE HOSPITAL AND YOU WON'T TELL ME WHAT ROOM HE'S IN?!?" screamed the slightly more masculine woman.

…YES! She knew EXACTLY who it was.

"Will you please not yell? This is a hospital! People are trying to sleep!" said the secretary, raising her voice.

The dogs were STILL barking and the two women looked like they were about to tear the secretary limb from limb.

"U-um!" Hinata interrupted, raising her voice to be heard above all the noise, "A-are you by a-any chance related to Kiba?"

The two women, dogs and secretary fell silent and turned to look at Hinata.

Hinata blushed under the pressure and averted her eyes.

This was all followed by an awkward silence that lasted about five seconds.

"You know my son?" asked the masculine looking woman, who will now be known as Kiba's mother.

"Y-yes," stuttered Hinata.

"Then I assume you know what room he's in," queried the other woman, who was NOT Kiba's mother, but certainly related to him.

"Y-yes," Hinata managed to stutter again.

"Well then lead the way," commanded Kiba's mother, and Hinata could do nothing but obey, as she led the way to Kiba's room.

MEANWHILE!!!

Kiba was telling an AMAZING story of the time when he fell in the toilet when he was rudely interrupted by people barging through the door, and it happened like this.

"…so THAT'S when I slipped and fell right into the TOI—"

"WHERE IS MY SON!?" demanded Kiba's mother, barging through the door at the speed of light. …Or close to that.

"HI MOM!!! HI SIS!!!" yelled Kiba. Clearly he had recovered enough from his operation to be able to yell again.

Shino turned around to look at the people who had PRACTICALLY knocked the door down. And he saw a masculine looking woman, a feminine looking woman, and a couple of vicious looking dogs, followed by Hinata.

"MY SON!!!" she yelled as affectionately as you can possibly yell.

All of his family members ran to his bedside. Well, not his whole CLAN. But, you know what I mean.

Shino turned to Hinata who was still standing in the doorway and gave her the look that said: "Let's give these people some alone time".

Hinata—who is very good at deciphering looks even when the person is wearing sunglasses—gave a look that said: "Okay".

With that, they both left the room promptly, shutting the door behind them, but they were only to come face to face with—

"There you are," said Hinata's father crossly.

"H-hello father!" said Hinata, nervous once again.

"Why are you at the hospital?" demanded Hinata's father.

"U-um… Well things happened… and I fainted and… I woke up here." Hinata mumbled.

Hinata's father looked at Shino and asked, "Is this is rascal that drooled on your sleeve, my daughter?"

"U-um…." mumbled Hinata, but did not say anything to defend Shino.

"Tsk tsk, I always knew those Aburames were bad news," scoffed Hinata's father.

After a moment of silence in which Shino glared, Mr. Hyuuga glared back and Hinata just stared at the floor, Hinata's father said, "Let us leave at once!" And with that Hinata and her father walked away, leaving Shino to stand there alone.

Shino was very angry that he had been mistaken for KIBA! And he was also angry that Hinata didn't say anything in his defense. But now that he was all alone he was unsure of what to do next. Should he go back to where Kiba and his crazy family were, or should he just go back to his house? But his house was far away and it was late. Therefore, should he call his father to come and get him? No. He was Shino, independent and strong!

…but first he would go and sit down in that comfy armchair in Kiba's room.


	8. Chapter 8: Guest of Honour

**Chapter 8: Guest of Honor**

Shino decided to sit in the comfy armchair in Kiba's hospital room. Hinata was sitting in it before, but now that she was gone it was vacant—perfect for him.

Shino opened the door and walked inside, only to be confronted with the weirdest scene he had ever seen in his life.

Kiba was sitting there on his bed, telling some heroic tale that ended with him getting hit in the head with a shuriken. While he was telling this, he was being patted, stroked, hugged and licked by various people/dogs.

And if you didn't think that it was the DOGS doing the licking then you are seriously crazy.

Shino had completely forgotten that he had left Kiba in there with his FAMILY and DOGS. Shino decided that he should leave now before he was noticed. He turned and stealthily reached for the doorknob—

"Shino!" exclaimed Kiba happily upon spotting him, then turning to his mother, "Mom, this is Shino. He saved my LIFE!!!"

Too late to leave now. Poor Shino.

Kiba's mother turned to look at Shino, got up and then walked towards him. She stood there and looked at him for a moment ad the bent down and hugged him.

For Shino, this was probably the most frightening and awkward thing that could ever happen to him. You see, Shino comes from a family where there is little or no physical contact. No hugs for Shino, in other words.

After a few moments she let go, eyes shining.

"Let's invite him for dinner!" She exclaimed.

"That's a GREAT idea mom!!!" shouted Kiba. A few dogs barked in what seemed to be agreement.

Kiba's sister shrugged, she didn't seem to care.

"YAHOOO!!! Let's GOOO!!!" yelled Kiba excitedly.

And so they did.

Without bothering to check Kiba out of the hospital, they just kind of left. "Serves that secretary right," thought both Kiba's mom and sister… at the EXACT SAME TIME!

…Or not.

I thought I should take a moment to tell you a little bit about Kiba's family. His mother's name is Tsume, and his sister's name is Hana.

They walked the few blocks to Kiba's house. Kiba was talking the WHOLE TIME. Shino was silent. How did he end up in this predicament? Perhaps he was too careless. Next time he would have to keep his guard up and be more careful.

They walked up to the house, and when they got to the door Kiba's mom put the key in the lock and unlocked the door. Then they opened the door and went in and took off their shoes on the front mat.

"Well?" asked Kiba, "What do you think of our house?"

Shino was amazed at how neat things were, even thought they had multiple pets.

"Clean." Stated Shino.

"Yah," agreed Kiba, "Kuromaru does all the cleaning, meaning I don't have to do chores!"

Shino looked at Kiba, thouroughly taken aback. Kuromaru was one of he DOGS, right? But Kiba said he does the cleaning! What was the world COMING TO!?

The two of them stood there in silence for a few moments. Kiba's mother had already gone to do something else.

"I'll finish making dinner," stated Kiba's sister as she went and did just that, "It'll be ready in about five minutes.

Now if you are wondering why dinner is only going to take five minutes is because before, they were going to eat dinner without Kiba when they suddenly got a call from the hospital. With that, they dropped everything and ran to the hospital at the speed of light.

Kiba decided to fill up the silence by telling Shino a story about the time that he was mistaken for a girl at the shopping mall because his sister made him wear a dress. Kiba must be very good at making his story last an exact amount of time because in exactly five minutes…

"THE END" stated Kiba. After about one second those words were followed by—

"Dinner time!!!" Hana yelled.

"COMING!!!" shouted Kiba excitedly, turned around and added, "C'mon Shino!" And with that he ran out of the room.

Shino followed a few seconds later, as there was absolutely NO point in delaying.

He walked into the dining room and sat down on the side that had three seats empty, which was directly across from Kiba. Shino was confused by the fact that there were more places set than there were people, but these ones didn't have any utensils and Shino had funny feeling that these were for—

The many dogs of the family ran into the room and sat in all of the empty chairs. There was one on either side of Shino. Shino felt that this was the weirdest thing that had every occurred today, no, in his whole life!

Tsume and Hana came in carrying many large bowls of spaghetti and meatballs. And placed one in front of each person/dog.

Yes, ninjas DO decide to eat Italian sometimes.

…And so do dogs? Whatever.

Once everyone was served the older people sat down.

And then they started eating. Shino, Kiba's mom, and Kiba's sister ate like regular Joes. Kiba however did not. Like every dog at the table, Kiba put his face in his food and started to eat. He was making a huge mess of himself and the surrounding area, seeing as stuff kept falling off his plate.

Shino stared at him. This was by far the STRANGEST dinner party he had been a guest at.

…Actually it was the ONLY dinner party he had ever been a guest at, but it was STILL strange.

Kiba continued to eat like a dog, and NO ONE told him that he should stop, so Shino decided not to care, even though it SO offended him.

They all finished their meals and then had some dessert, which was ice cream. Kiba immediately stuck his face in it, just like the last course and made a mess. Only this time, when he finished it he fell out of his chair and started rolling across the floor screaming "BRAIN FREEZE!!! AHHH!!! BRAIN FREEZE!!!"

And for all of you who have no IDEA what I am talking about, I am talking about the headache you get when you eat something cold very quickly.

When he was finished screaming, he got back in his chair, smiling from ear to ear.

"It's time to send Shino home now, " said Kiba's mom.

"Aww maaaan…." Whined Kiba.

"Yes I will call his father to come and get him." Said Kiba's mom as she went to the kitchen where the phone was.

They just sat there waiting for her to come back from the kitchen. And when she did she said: " Alright Shino, your father is coming to get you."

"Drat," said Kiba, "I was hoping you would get to stay longer. Oh well! Let's wait on the front porch."

Shino, Kiba and his mom walked out and sat on the porch. His sister Hana had long since left to do something… older sister-ish.

Kiba told another story that fit perfectly into the amount of time required, about the time he tried and failed at using utensils. Within seconds of this story being over, Mr. Aburame could be seen walking up the garden path.

I thought it would be a good idea to add in that Mr. Aburame's first name is Shibi, even though Mr. Aburame sounds SO much cooler.

"Time to go," stated Shibi or Mr. Aburame, whichever you prefer.

Shino nodded in reply.

Kiba gave Shino a hug, which startled him, and said, "See you at school tomorrow bestest buddy!" With that he let go, and as Shino walked down the path with his father, waved goodbye.

"You're not going to school tomorrow with that injury." Said Kiba's mother as she led him inside in a motherly fashion.

"AWW MAN!!!" whined Kiba as they walked through the door and closed it behind them.

"Who was that?" asked Shino's father.

"A friend," said Shino simply.

Mr. Aburame frowned, thinking: "I didn't know Shino had friends."

MEANWHILE AT THE HOSPITAL!!!

"OUR PATIENT IS GONE!!!" screamed the secretary, who was then shouted at to be quiet.

Hahaha… serves her right.


	9. Chapter 9: Without Kiba

**Chapter 9: Without Kiba**

Shino walked to the academy that morning in disbelief. Had he really referred to Kiba as a friend? Had Kiba really become his friend? Had Kiba really become such a big part of his life? It was troubling him a great deal.

He stopped in front of the academy gates. Time went by quickly when you had a lot on your mind. Was Kiba going to be there today? After all, Kiba's mother HAD wanted to keep him home because of his injuries, but maybe she had changed her mind.

Shino walked inside the schoolyard, waiting for the bell to ring. He sat on a bench. Hinata saw him and walked over to him.

"Good morning Shino," she said politely, but you could tell she was worried about Kiba.

"Good morning," Shino replied.

Hinata looked around. She was most likely trying to spot Kiba, who didn't seem to be there.

The bell rang and all the students headed towards the school.

"Let's go," murmured Hinata as she too turned and walked towards the school. Shino got up and followed suit.

The noisy students marched into the classroom and took their seats. Shino and Hinata were the last ones to come in, but they did so quietly unlike their overly talkative classmates.

Shino sat down and looked around, but he couldn't see Kiba anywhere. Obviously his mother really HAD meant it when she said he wasn't going to school. Kiba was NEVER late for school.

Hinata also looked around for Kiba, who usually sat beside her. Today his seat was vacant. This upset Hinata quite a bit, considering how fragile she is and all.

Iruka walked in and started pounding on his desk to get the class' attention. After a few minutes with no success Iruka finally yelled, "SIT DOWN AND BE QUIET!!!" I suppose you might have guessed that this is the return of the ultimate "I am the teacher" voice.

The students finally noticed that they were being yelled at and decided to pay some attention to Iruka.

Pleased, Iruka smiled. Then he started to take attendance. Iruka called out the names, but Shino only caught a few—like his own, and Hinata's. Iruka kept going down the list alphabetically until he got to "Kiba Inuzuka" which was when he paused and said, "Has anyone seen Kiba?" Nobody said anything. Iruka started to yell, "KIBA INUZU"—

CRASH!!! A dog smashed and leapt through the window. Shino recognized this dog at once. It was Kuromaru, the dog who did the house cleaning and ate Kiba's lunch in revenge. He had a note in his jaws.

"—ka?" finished Iruka, thoroughly taken aback. He was not quite used to this thing yet since they never taught it at teacher's college. Maybe he should start a course on the crazy things that happen when you apply for a job as a teacher, but for now he had to pay attention to the present situation.

The dog set the note down on Iruka's desk and then jumped through the broken window and out of sight.

Iruka walked forward and picked up the letter warily, as though it would bite him. It was covered in dog drool. Iruka looked it over and was silent.

Finally a kid with blond hair asked, "What did it say Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka looked at the blond haired kid and then read, "Dear Teacher, I am displeased to inform you that my son Kiba will not be coming to class today due to head injuries. Sincerely, Mrs. Inuzuka."

Some of the kids in the class laughed, they had all thought he was kind of mental anyways, but they had never thought that he would have to stay home because of it.

Shino and Hinata, however, did not laugh. Hinata looked more upset, as though it was her fault, and Shino had mixed emotions. On one hand he was thinking, "Peace and quiet," but on the other hand he felt bad that Kiba had to stay home.

Iruka regained his composure after a moment and decided to try and start teaching the class once again.

Shino was a student who usually pays attention in class, but today his mind was wandering. He tried to go to his world of bugs and buzzing but was unable to do so. Every time he tried, his thoughts were interrupted by thoughts of how Kiba was doing. Why was this? Was Kiba suddenly more important to him than his bugs? Could it possibly be that he missed Kiba?

Thinking of this brought his thoughts back to his thoughts that morning, of how Kiba was his friend and had affected him. It must have been true. But no. It couldn't possibly be true. Yet he noticed all the empty spaces throughout the day that Kiba usually filled, like making Iruka angry by sleeping in class, the random conversations at lunch, and the yelling. Could it be that Shino actually had made a friend without noticing? He had to know, and the only way to do that was to see Kiba again. Once he did that he would know for sure.

Going alone was not an option though, he needed support, he couldn't go alone. And who better to ask than Hinata?

"Hinata, we are going to Kiba's house," said Shino.

Okay, so maybe he didn't ask. He just forced her to. But this is HINATA so it is relatively easy to force her to do anything.

"O-okay," stuttered Hinata.

And so they headed off in the direction of Kiba's house.

They walked in silence because Shino didn't like talking, and Hinata had figured that out by now.

They arrived at Kiba's house a quick as a flash!

…A not-very-quick flash that is.

They walked up the front steps and rung the doorbell. They could hear dogs barking from inside the house. The door was answered by Kiba's mother, who looked at them, smiled, and let them in. She said, "So, you came to visit Kiba?"

"Y-yes," murmured Hinata.

Shino nodded.

"Well then I will show you to his room," said Tsume in reply.

The two of them were led upstairs and down the hall to Kiba's room. The door was closed. The door had all sorts of things stuck on it with tape, such as a "beware" sign, pictures of Kiba, pictures of dogs, and a pirate flag.

"You go right in and visit him," said Tsume, who then turned and went back down the stairs.

When she was gone Shino turned the knob and opened the door, only to see—

Kiba was standing on his bed in his smiley face boxer shorts watching the newest Peter Pan movie, shouting along, "I DO BELIEVE IN FAERIES!!! I DO! I DO!!!"

"O-oh m-my!" gasped Hinata putting her hands over her mouth, blushing from head to toe. Nothing like this ever happened in the main house! She couldn't believe that Kiba was standing there in front of her in his UNDERWEAR!!! Oh the embarrassment!!!

Poor Hinata, so young and innocent. How old would she be in her first year at the academy? Like, six?

Shino lost all his respect for Kiba. Not like he had any, but still.

Kiba turned to look at them at the sound of Hinata's voice.

"Oh, hi!" said Kiba cheerily, giving a little wave.

Shino looked at Kiba in a different way for the first time, he did not see him as the annoyance that he once did, but saw that Kiba was kind and caring, and was the only person who ever noticed him. Kiba was the best friend a person could have.

Just then Kiba's sister Hana came bursting into the room. "KIBA!!! MOM SAID YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!?! Shouted Hana in astonishment.

"WHO TOLD YOU I WAS IN LOVE WITH WENDY!?!" shouted Kiba slapping his cheeks.

Hana then points at Hinata, "Her name is Wendy?" Asked Hana.

"What? NO! THAT'S NOT WENDY!!!" shouted Kiba in disbelief, "That's Hinata."

At this point Hinata fainted from embarrassment. After all, Kiba was STILL standing there in his underwear.

Hana shrugged and left the room, "Still so young, but what a ladies man," she sighed.

Shino was standing there but then decided to leave, he had gotten the answer he was looking for.

He just left Hinata where she was on the floor.

As he was walking down the hall, Kiba noticed him and called desperately, "Promise me you won't tell anyone about my love for Wendy!"

Shino smiled, just a little bit, but if you were looking really closely you could see it.


	10. Chapter 10: Apologies

**Chapter 10: Apologies**

Ring, ring.

The phone rang. Mr. Aburame answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Mr. Aburame? This is Mr. Hyuuga, I am calling about your son. I have been informed that your son drooled on my daughter's sleeve. Seeing as my daughter is the heir of the Main House, this incident could cause a rift between our clans in the future."

"Yes."

"Our clans have been at peace for many years and I would not want this incident to disrupt that, would you?"

"No."

"Good, I am glad we see eye-to-eye on this matter. Therefore, I wish for your son to come over to our house tomorrow for dinner to apologize formally."

"Yes."

"Good. I am glad you agree. I hope I do not have to phone you over such matters in the future. Goodbye." And with that he hung up the phone.

Mr. Aburame hung up the phone as well. He stood there for a moment trying to grasp the situation. Shino had drooled on the heir to the Main House's sleeve and so therefore he had to go apologize formally to the Main House in order to keep peace between the clans? What? Shino drooling on ANYONE was something he doubted his son would ever do. Also, since when did clans become unfriendly towards each other because of such trivial matters? It was ludicrous. Absolutely ludicrous.

Just then Shino walked around the corner. "Who was that?" he asked, seeing as no one ever bothers to phone their house.

"Mr. Hyuuga. He wants you to go over for dinner tomorrow to apologize for drooling on his daughter." Said Shino's father, trying to say all that in as little words as possible.

"What?' asked Shino, "I didn't do that," he said in his defense.

"Well, you should go and explain anyway," stated Mr. Aburame, walking away, thus ending the conversation.

Had Hinata never told her father what had REALLY happened? Obviously not since the snot incident had been blamed on him. Him of ALL people! What was the world coming to?

He had to go, though. His father thought it was important enough to explain the situation and tell the truth. His father was always right.

So, the next day Shino went to school dreading the evening to come. He hated talking. It would have been SO much easier if Hinata had sorted this issue out before. Now he had to go over to their house for dinner and apologize formally for something he didn't do? Really!

He got to school just as the bell rang, so he went to class. He sat down in his designated seat and immediately tuned out the rest of the world. He was concentrating on his thoughts of how to explain to Mr. Hyuuga in as few words as possible that he didn't drool on Hinata's sleeve. He was thinking about this all day. He completely missed every word Iruka-sensei said, he hardly noticed what was in the sandwich he ate for lunch and he didn't notice the lack of Kiba once again.

Lately, Shino seemed to be changing into a person that obsessed over small things, didn't mind the company of others and talked more often. This was an unusual change for an Aburame, seeing as all Aburames are anti-social. Could this change have been brought about by his newfound friends? It was a mystery to Shino.

Shino still wasn't paying much attention to anything but what he was going to say to Mr. Hyuuga when he walked home that day. He stepped into his house and took off his shoes. He went to the kitchen to get a snack, and on the fridge door he saw a note addressed to him. The note said:

Shino,

I have to go on an important mission. I might be back tomorrow. You are expected at the Hyuuga's at 5 pm sharp.

Father.

So his father was on a mission and he needed to be at the Hyuuga's at 5 pm sharp. Since he now knew this information, he took the note off the fridge and threw it in the garbage. Then he took his snack and went upstairs to his room.

He sat down on his bed eating in silence, wondering what the evening would bring. He sat there for quite a while thinking about what he had been thinking about all day—what he would say to Mr. Hyuuga. Then he looked at his clock. It was 4:47. Time to go.

He went downstairs and put his jacket and shoes on. It was only September, so it wasn't too cold. He walked a couple of blocks towards the Hyuuga complex. It wasn't too far from his house. There was a large wall with a large door in it. He knocked on the monstrous door, loudly. Some random Hyuuga that he did not know answered.

"What do you want?" asked the Hyuuga that Shino did not know skeptically.

"I was invited for dinner," stated Shino simply.

"Oh, we were expecting you," said this Hyuuga clan member, "Follow me," they said as they motioned for Shino to follow them.

Shino was led through the large door and down a path to an even larger building—which was quite grand—and through some corridors, across a patio, down a walkway, through another building and finally into a room. Where the random Hyuuga member stopped and told Shino to wait. Then he turned and left Shino alone in the room.

This was a small room that had a couch, a few chairs and a glass-topped coffee table. It looked like a waiting room—which it probably was.

Shino thought the Hyuuga complex was absolutely enormous and far grander than the Aburame complex—if you could even call what they had a complex. The Hyuuga complex seemed like a never-ending network of houses and gardens and pathways that all looked similar, like the inside of a maze.

Shino was left in silence to ponder the immense-ness of the Hyuuga complex. While he did, he looked around the room, poked a few couches—before eventually sitting down—and made fingerprints on the glass top of the coffee table.

Just when Shino was in the middle of drawing a particularly angry happy face on the table with his finger, Mr. Hyuuga came striding into the room, followed by a nervous looking Hinata, a blank looking little girl, and an angry looking boy he did not know.

The boy had long, dark brown hair, like Hinata's father, which he tied in a low ponytail, and the white Hyuuga eyes. He was taller and looked slightly older than Hinata and Shino.

The girl looked younger than Hinata, with shoulder-length dark brown hair and white Hyuuga eyes.

Shino assumed the two of them were both Hyuugas, and wondered if they were also here to formally apologize.

"So… I see you came to apologize for your wrong-doings," said Mr. Hyuuga as though he was better than EVERYONE else in the world.

Shino said nothing, merely glared.

Mr. Hyuuga glared back and then said, "Why don't we have dinner first." It wasn't a question.

Mr. Hyuuga led the way out of the waiting room and into a dinning room where they all took their seats. Mr. Hyuuga sat at the one end of the table with Hinata on one side of him and the boy and girl he didn't know on the other side of him. Shino took his seat at the other end of the table—as far away from Mr. Hyuuga as possible.

Shino noticed that this was the second dinner party he had been to that week. Maybe having friends meant he got to go places more often. And that would be cool.


	11. Chapter 11: Paper Door

**Chapter 11: Paper Door**

There was silence at the table. Then—

"I would like to introduce you to my youngest daughter," he said gesturing towards the blank looking little girl, "This is Hanabi."

Hanabi looked up at the sound of her name. She looked at Shino, probably expecting him to introduce himself or at least wave, but Shino did nothing of the sort. Shino merely looked at her—he hated talking and waving was below him.

Mr. Hyuuga narrowed his eyes and looked annoyed but continued nonetheless, "Also, I would like to introduce you to my nephew, Neji." He gestured toward the angry looking boy, who looked like he would rather be anywhere but where he was right now—Shino sympathized with him.

Neji looked over where Shino was and glared. Okay, now Shino's sympathy was gone.

Shino gave Neji the mother glare of ALL glares.

Mr. Hyuuga cleared his throat for attention, and thus the room's attention was returned to him. He looked even more annoyed than before.

"I know you know you know my eldest daughter, seeing as you were kind enough to drool all over her sleeve," continued Mr. Hyuuga rudely, as though tempting Shino to get up and shout at him. "But let us not get into that before dinner, shall we?" said Mr. Hyuuga as though he was NOT the one who brought it up in the first place.

Neji scoffed, like he was SO much better than Shino—and his uncle for that matter. He was also probably thinking about how pointless this dinner was and how there was NO reason for him to be there at all. Which there wasn't.

Hanabi was still sitting there looking blank. No one was talking to her, so there was no reason for her to talk to anyone else. She was probably thinking about Barney movies, or whatever small children think about. How old is she anyway? Like three?

Hinata couldn't believe the mess this whole affair was turning out to be. She wished she had explained the truth to her father before this had gotten so out of hand.

Shino was thinking about his growing hate for Hinata's family and noticing the similarities between Neji and his uncle. They both had the same I-am-SO-better-than-you attitude.

And then…EVERYONE EXPLODED!!!

Or not.

What really happened, though, was almost as remarkable.

"U-um," said Hinata quietly. Yes that was the remarkable thing.

"Yes?" inquired her father.

"U-um, actually…you see—"

"Dinner is served!!!" announced some young, boisterous Hyuuga loudly, cutting Hinata off completely.

"Ah, good," said Mr. Hyuuga, completely forgetting about Hinata. As though dinner was more important than her. Poor Hinata.

"Let us eat," said Mr. Hyuuga, as the Hyuuga kitchen staff swarmed in and covered the table in a huge feast, then leaving as abruptly as they came.

Mr. Hyuuga began to eat in silence, and the rest followed suit.

Hinata ate with the utmost of care, applying etiquette in every single way, whether it came to using her utensils or placing her napkin on her lap. She took only the smallest bites as though expecting someone to shout at her for doing something horribly wrong.

Mr. Hyuuga ate just as politely as Hinata; his napkin on his lap and everything. The only difference was that he ate a lot more than Hinata, OBVIOUSLY.

Neji ate with care and politely but not overly so. It was as though putting a napkin on his lap was below him.

Hanabi just kind of sat there stabbing at her food, like the little kid that she is.

As for Shino, he ate like a regular Joe. Not overly polite but not a slob, like Kiba. Speaking of whom would probably eat like a ravenous animal causing all of the Hyuugas to be thoroughly outraged. Shino was sure that in his position, Kiba would be DOOMED, being one of the most unmannered people in the world.

The dinner dragged out longer than truly necessary. Who needed a second course ANYWAY? Why not serve it all together? Dessert? Have you EVER seen Shino eat anything sweet? Have you ever seen Shino eat ANYTHING? No, I don't suppose you have, but it is obvious he does or he wouldn't have the energy to be a real ninja!

Anyway, after dessert there was coffee. Six-year-olds don't drink coffee. Well, Shino suspects that KIBA does, but let's not get into that.

So, we could agree it is best to talk over coffee, because your mouth isn't generally filled with food anymore. Talking with your mouth full is just rude! So that's what they did.

After sipping his coffee, Mr. Hyuuga cleared his throat and looked expectantly at Shino, who didn't say anything. Although he did glare. And so commenced a glaring contest between Mr. Hyuuga and Shino. That's right not a staring contest but a glaring contest! Neji decided to join in because he felt left out and had more than one reason to glare.

It was a tense moment.

It was a tense couple of moments.

It was a tense—you get the idea—and it was broken but someone saying: "U-um."

And everyone turned to GLARE at the culprit who ruined the glaring contest—who just so happened to be Hinata.

"E-excuse me but"—

"NOOOOOOOO!!! Shino, I'll save you!!!" cried Kiba as he burst through a paper sliding door, bandages askew, breaking it irreparably.

Hinata gasped. Hanabi looked anything BUT blank. Neji looked at Kiba like he was a freak. Mr. Hyuuga looked surprised and outraged. Now who could have guessed THOSE reactions?!

Now, how they all seemed so surprised is beyond me because they all have the Byakugan! Which enables them to see 360 degrees and right through stuff, like walls!

Shino was surprised, but now that Kiba was here he could give his explanation and leave.

Kiba ran over to where Shino was sitting.

"Shino!" he gasped—it sounded as though he had been running, "I came to save you because I heard that you were DOOMED!!! And when Wendy was doomed Peter Pan came to save her, and even though you are not Wendy you are still—oh! Hi Hinata!!! Fancy meeting YOU here! What are you doing here anyway?!" he exclaimed this for he had just spotted Hinata and proceeded talking to her as though she didn't live here.

Then Mr. Hyuuga found his assertive voice. "Who are you, what are you doing destroying my home and HOW do you know my daughter!?" he demanded.

"I came here to save Shino!" Kiba repeated, "Wait, WHAT?"

"Kiba, this is Hinata's house and family. Mr. Hyuuga this is the culprit of the snot incident, of which I was a victim," introduced Shino, "I am leaving."

With that Shino got up. He was fed up of this seriously messed up dinner party.

"O-oh my!" gasped Hinata in a quiet voice.

"Wait. What are we talking about?" asked Kiba, thoroughly confused, the poor fellow that he is.

"WHAT!?" Mr. Hyuuga shouted angrily at Shino and Kiba, "I knew the Aburames and Inuzukas were terribly bad news!"

"Don't assume," said Shino in an angry voice followed by the GRANDMOTHER of all glares. Meaning it was HUGE.

Kiba looked at Shino with an unreadable expression.

"Let's go," said Shino, who then walked through the empty frame where the sliding door used to be.

Kiba shrugged. "I'm game," he agreed, then turning and waving at Hinata said, "See you at school tomorrow!"

Then he jumped through the empty doorframe and out of sight.

He saw that Shino was already halfway down the corridor. "Hey, wait up!" he called as he ran after him in an attempt to catch up. Which wasn't hard since it wasn't like Shino was trying to run away or anything.

"Sooo… Thanks for sticking up for me back there! We make a great team, huh?!"

"No," replied Shino, "It's your fault we were in that mess."

"Really?" asked Kiba incredulously, "I never knew! What could I possibly have done to make that man SO angry," he wondered aloud.

"…" said Shino.

They walked in silence for a while, which was unusual for someone accompanied by Kiba. They went through the many hallways and courtyards; gardens and pathways, until they made it to the final paper door, which they exited in a swift manner.

From inside the complex they could hear some enraged yelling and thuds.

"Well, I guess that's our cue to go," stated Kiba, grinning.

Since they were both going separate ways this was where they would have to part.

"See you tomorrow then!" said Kiba happily as he waved and walked his separate way.

"Bye," said Shino even though he was already gone.

Shino turned and walked home. He was not thinking of the talk or angry phone call he was soon to receive. He was not thinking of the mess he left behind him. He did not think of these things because the words still echoed in his head.

"_We make a great team, huh?!"_


	12. Chapter 12: Red

**Chapter 12: Red**

In the Aburame clan lectures are kept short and to the point. No one ever uses five words when they could use two. Hence the very short lecture for Shino once he got home.

"Mr. Hyuuga is very displeased. Don't let it happen again," was all he said after listening to one phone call rant that could last him a lifetime. That was one thing he NEVER wanted to endure EVER again. He didn't understand how Mr. Hyuuga could be so angry over a little bit of snot. To him it was still ludicrous.

Shino wasn't too troubled by Mr. Hyuuga disliking him. He rather disliked Mr. Hyuuga. So, I guess you could call it even. Besides, I don't think Shino ever wanted to go to another dinner party at the Hyuugas' ever again.

Shino arrived at school early that morning. He saw Hinata sitting over on one of the benches and decided to go sit with her.

"H-hello," she greeted him sounding quieter than usual; forcing a little smile. Clearly SOMEONE was troubled by past events.

"…" said Shino.

Hinata went silent. Shino was silent. They sat there.

Then Shino spotted a figure running towards them at full tilt. It took Shino less than two seconds to figure out who it was. Obviously Kiba.

As he got closer they could tell he had something on his head, and it wasn't bandages… but what?

"HEY GUYS!!!" he yelled excitedly, "GUESS WHAT?!"

He stopped in front of them and now they could see what he had on his head.

It was a puppy. It was white and brown in colour, and had small floppy ears. It was quite small.

Kiba picked it off his head and held it in front of him for them to see it better.

"Look!" he exclaimed.

Hinatas face immediately showed that she was a sucker for cute things.

"Aww," she sighed in adoration.

"I've decided to name him White n' Brownie!" Kiba stated proudly.

"…What?" asked Shino, "Why?" Deciding that that was one of the worse names you could EVER name a pet. It offended him, and it wasn't even his name.

"Well because he's white and brown. Duh!" Kiba replied, as if it were obvious, "Isn't that a cool name?"

'White n' Brownie' barked in what seemed to be disagreement.

"No?" asked Kiba to the dog, because he was now clearly talking to it, "What do you mean that's the worst name you've ever heard in your entire life!? You haven't even been alive that long!"

The dog barked at him again.

"You have SO not been alive longer than I have!"

The dog barked two barks and a yip.

"What!? I am SO smarter than you!"

Hinata looked confused that Kiba was now having a conversation with his puppy. She didn't see how he could understand the language of dogs.

Shino on the other hand found it perfectly normal that Kiba could talk to his dog for two reasons. Number one, if he had said that his whole clan had dogs than it seemed likely that they could understand them. I mean, Shino could understand and talk to his bugs. Number two, this is Kiba. Somehow the crazy things that Kiba did were starting to surprise Shino less and less.

Shino and Hinata watched them as they continued to trade insults for a few minutes longer. Soon after, a blond kid that Shino did not know walked up and started to watch too.

Hinata looked at the blond kid and blushed. Something was DEFINITELY wrong with Hinata.

Shino looked at him and wondered who he was. He had never seen this kid in his entire life… wait no he had. They were in the same class. Silly Shino.

"Hey," demanded the blond kid, "Are you talking to that dog?"

Kiba and his dog turned to look at him.

"Of course I am," replied Kiba, like it was the normal and incredibly OBVIOUS thing, "What else would I be doing?"

"I dunno," the kid shrugged, and walked off.

There was a moment of silence.

"Where was I?" asked Kiba.

"You were just being insulted by your dog about the terrible name that you picked for it," answered Shino.

"Oh, I see," said Kiba, then asked, "Well in that case, what do you want to be called?"

The dog barked at him.

"NO WAY!" answered Kiba, "I refuse to call you 'The Mighty Dog Who Is SO Much Better Than His Master'!"

The dog barked again in response.

"Not just 'Mighty Dog' either. It has to be a name, not a title!"

The dog then turned and barked at Hinata and Shino. Kiba turned and waited expectantly for an answer.

"Um," asked Hinata hesitantly, "What did he say?"

"OH," said Kiba, "I forgot you couldn't understand him. He asked if you guys had any bright ideas."

"Well…" replied Hinata thoughtfully.

"Peter Pan?" suggested Shino, for it was the only thing he knew that Kiba liked.

"No!" Kiba gasped, "I dare not! It would be too great name! He would only deserve to be a lost boy!"

Shino had no IDEA what a lost boy was, but was not exactly sure why Kiba had turned down his suggestion.

"Hmm…" Hinata thought.

Then the bell rang.

"Well c'mon guys we can think about this at lunch!" Kiba said as he frolicked off to class.

Shino shrugged, and he and Hinata followed.

They all got to class and went to their individual seats. However, many people noticed Kiba's dog and were all crowding around it; asking to pet it and hold it.

When Iruka-sensei entered the class he was dismayed to discover the terrible commotion.

"GET IN YOUR SEATS!!!" he yelled, for he had _still _not taken the course that told you not to yell at your students.

Many people grumbled, but they eventually returned to their seats. And that's when Iruka-sensei noticed the dog.

"Kiba, you know you aren't supposed to bring pets to school!" admonished Iruka.

"Awww man!" Kiba moaned, "But he's my ninja dog!"

Iruka then noticed how irresistibly cute the puppy was. And EVERYONE is a sucker when it comes to cute things. EVEN Iruka.

"Well," Iruka said, "I suppose he could stay…"

"YAY!!!" the class cheered. Except for Kiba because he cheered "YAHOO!!!"

"BUT ONLY FOR TODAY!" Iruka threatened spastically.

"YAY!" the class cheered again, even though they weren't REALLY listening to anything Iruka said.

Class passed in a way that all teachers fear: everyone was not paying attention. NOOOO!!! They were too busy paying attention to the cute puppy! Wouldn't you?

Lunch came and the conversation of what Kiba should name his dog came up again. Naturally, every name from 'Terminator' to 'Fluffy' was refused.

"Does it do any tricks?" asked the blond kid. Yes, he was sitting there with them trying to figure out a good name for the dog in question.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Kiba, "Look I'll show you!" He set the dog down on the ground. Then he reached into his butt pouch—you know, the little pouch on their butts that they keep scrolls and shuriken in—and pulled out a pill.

"Your dog eats MEDICINE?" asked the blond kid loudly.

"NO!" shouted Kiba in reply, "It's a soldier pill. Now watch!"

Kiba fed the pill to his dog and it immediately started growling like it was rabid. Then something amazing happened, it's fur turned red.

"Oh my!" exclaimed Hinata.

"Red fur," stated Shino, "You should name it Aka something."

And for those of you who are wondering because you don't know or don't pay attention Aka means red.

"Hmm…" pondered Kiba, "How about AKAMARU?!"

The dog barked enthusiastically in agreement.

Or should I say, Akamaru barked enthusiastically in agreement.

"Well, my work here is done," said the blond kid, as though he had done anything at all.

"Naruto, you didn't do ANYTHING," voiced Kiba.

Now Shino knew his name. Kiba and Hinata ALREADY knew his name because they aren't exactly loners, so obviously they have other friends. Besides, Hinata HAS to know the name of the guy she fancies.

"O-oh!" exclaimed Hinata because she thought that Kiba was being incredibly rude to him.

"Sure, sure," said Naruto, and with that he walked off.

Hinata blushed, partly because she realized that he didn't care, and partly because she seemed to have a crush on Naruto.

Shino noticed this habit of Hinata's. He notices many things in fact—he just never says anything about them. Shino noticed that Hinata would blush whenever that Naruto kid was around. 'But why?' he wondered. Not aloud of course. It was a mystery to Shino.


	13. Chapter 13: Shock

Chapter 13: Shock

**Chapter 13: Shock**

Ring, ring.

The phone rang. Mr. Aburame answered it.

"Hello?"

"HELLOOO?" yelled the voice on the other end causing Mr. Aburame to jump and hold the phone a foot away from his ear. It was as though the person had never used the telephone before. "IS SHINO THERE?!" inquired the extremely loud and obnoxious voice on the other end of the phone.

"Yes," replied Shino's father, sounding ever so slightly annoyed—and, like Shino, when I say ever so slightly annoyed, it means you could barely tell the difference in his voice, but he was slightly annoyed nonetheless. Ever since Shino had obtained some friends their house was now receiving far more phone calls than was truly necessary.

"…" except for static there was silence on the other end. Mr. Aburame said nothing. After all, the voice had asked if Shino was there and he had answered that question.

"CAN I TALK TO HIM?" asked the voice.

"Yes." sighed Shino's father, not really wanting to look for his son. But wishing with all his bug-infested heart that he could stop listening to the painfully loud voice on the other end of the telephone line.

Conveniently, at that moment Shino had walked into the kitchen to see who had called. Wordlessly, Mr. Aburame handed him the phone.

He didn't bother to ask who it was, since the list of people who he thought might ever phone him he could count on one hand with a finger to spare. (If you really want to know, the list is: Kiba, Hinata, Mr. Hyuuga, and Iruka sensei—although why Iruka is on this list I am not entirely sure. Maybe he thought this phone call had something to do with detention.)

"Hello?" Shino inquired, his voice raising ever so slightly at the end so you could tell it was a question.

"HELLOOO!! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" Kiba questioned, obnoxiously, for it was obviously him. Shino winced at the volume. He could hear barking in the background.

"Yes," said Shino sounding ever so slightly annoyed. Shino could now hear muffled talking in the background.

"HOLD ON SHINO. WHAT?!" the last part, Shino could tell, was not addressed to him.

The muffled conversation continued.

"My sister says you can hear me when I don't yell. And that my voice is more effective at deafening people than stabbing their eardrums with a thousand kunai, whatever that means! She also called me an idiot."—darn right she should, thought Shino—"Anyway, this is my first time talking on the phone! Isn't that amazing!" Shino groaned internally, no wonder he was yelling. "So…um…what did you want to talk about?" asked Kiba.

This confused Shino until he recalled Kiba's pitiful short-term memory. "You called me."

"Oh… Yes…yes of course I called you. How silly of me," then his voice turned serious, "Shino I have phoned for a very important reason: you need to come over to my house right away. Okay? Good. BYE!!" and before Shino could get a word in edgewise, Kiba hung up. What could be SO important that Kiba would call him and ask him to come over right away? Shino's intuition—or perhaps his bugs—told him that whatever it was it would not be good. But, regardless, Shino decided he would go, since it _seemed_ so important to Kiba.

Not expecting to stay long, Shino did not bring anything except the clothes on his back, and the bugs in his body. So Shino began to walk to Kiba's house.

Shino rang the doorbell.

The sounds of barking, stomping, and yelling came from inside. Kiba flung the door open, causing it to smash into Shino. With a grunt Shino landed on his backside. He clasped a hand to his forehead where the door had struck him. With his other hand he checked to make sure his sunglasses hadn't been damaged in any way. Nope, by sheer luck they had escaped injury. Through streaming eyes looked up to see a very strange sight.

Kiba was standing there clad in swim trunks and scuba gear—mask, flippers, water wings, nose plugs. He wore a floatation device around his waist and Shino could smell the copious amounts of sunscreen he was wearing even from where he had fallen unceremoniously on the ground. Kiba looked fully ready for anything water (and sun) dared to dish out.

Shino did not like the look of this. Oh, no. Shino did not like it at all. From what he could see, Kiba was ready to do some sort of water-related activity and Shino hoped to God that what Kiba thought was important did not involve Shino getting sprayed with or dunked in water. Shino hated water. He didn't even like to bathe in more than two inches of it (Anything the two inches of water didn't reach were washed via sponge). All Aburames were like this of course. None of them could stand it. Not when all of them were filled with thousands upon thousands of insects. Oh, no. Insects and water don't mix. Period.

Kiba looked gleefully at Shino. "You came!"

Shino looked quizzically at Kiba. Of course he came. Kiba had told him it was important.

"SURPRISE!!" Kiba yelled as he and the many dogs (including Akamaru) jumped on Shino, smothering him.

Now this confused and angered Shino a great deal. On one hand he was confused because Kiba had told him it was important that he came over right away, then appeared at he door clad in swim gear and shouting 'surprise'. On the other hand he was angry because Kiba and his pets were jumping on him and licking him (not Kiba of course).

When the excitement had subsided, and Shino was able to remove himself from underneath all of the animals—Kiba included, yes he IS being insulted here—he asked faintly, "What?" You could almost say he looked dumbfounded, if had been able to make such an expression.

"It's my surprise party! So I get to surprise people!" explained Kiba as Akamaru barked in agreement, "Aren't you surprised?!"

"…Yes?" answered Shino who was both surprised AND confused.

"Yahoo! Success!" shouted Kiba gleefully as he jumped to his feet and punched the sky. "Now quick, get inside!" he said as he pulled Shino to his feet and dragged him hurriedly inside, motioning for the dogs to follow, and slamming the door behind him. Shino meanwhile was still in a state of shock.

"Now we just wait to surprise Hinata!" Kiba said as he hurried over to the window, which gave him a clear view of the front walkway. "I am so happy you and Hinata did NOT arrive at the same time because now I get to surprise both of you separately, which is totally awe—LOOK there she is!" In his hurry to get back to the door, Kiba nearly tripped over Shino, who was still standing there in the hallway still in a mild state of shock—of course it didn't help that he was running while wearing flippers. Kiba hopped up and down on the spot as he waited with great anticipation for the doorbell to ring.

Ding, Do—before the doorbell had even finished ringing Kiba flung the door open at the speed of light, causing it to crash into Hinata, who then promptly landed on her backside.

"SURPRISE!!" Kiba shouted as he and his dogs jumped on Hinata.

Shino knew that Hinata could be considered among the faint of heart and he even gathered that this mix of bodily harm and loud noises might put her into a state of shock. Shino, of course, was right, but had missed out on one crucial factor: Hinata's almost fanatical devotion to her father. Hinata's father had a very large influence on her life. He had set many rules that he expected to be followed to the letter. One of these rules kindly laid out by Mr. Hyuuga was that his daughter should never touch strange boys (especially ones so scandalously clad), and certainly _never_ associate herself with **hooligans**. And although Hinata did not really think of Kiba as a stranger—though he was definitely strange—nor a hooligan, she knew what her father would think of this situation. This situation being Hinata trapped under a half-naked boy and some overly rambunctious dogs (Kiba is being included with the dogs this time). Utter scandal. Preposterous. He would disown her at once. Thank God he wasn't there, because if he were, he would probably forbid her from seeing Kiba ever again! And although she did have a few girl friends in the class (you could not consider them close), she was shy and would not want to lose one of her only boy friends forever! Because even though he could be inconsiderate and not take into account her feelings (or those of her father), he was very kind-hearted and a real true friend.

"Were you surprised!?" asked Kiba excitedly, bringing Hinata back from her thoughts. Hinata looked up at him, feeling faint. Even with her unfocused vision she was able to catch the change of expression on his face, from one of joy to that of horror. "OH MY GOD! Hinata you're BLEEDING!!" And with that Hinata fainted.

Hinata, like Shino, had been hit in the forehead with the door, but it seemed that Kiba was a little more over-excited than usual after his first success at surprising people and opened the door even faster than before. This left a red mark on her forehead that had now started to bleed.

Shino was now over his shock of being knocked to the ground and jumped on, but was now in shock for an entirely different reason. Shino could not believe the stupidity of Kiba.

"I KILLED HER!!" screeched Kiba, clutching her to him as though both of their lives depended on it.

"Kiba—" Shino was about to inform Kiba that she wasn't actually dead when the sound of someone stomping towards them from the kitchen made him stop and turn around.

"Kiba!" shouted Kiba's sister angrily, "What are you screaming about?!"

Sniffling pitifully, Kiba turned to his older sister and wailed, "I killed Hinata! See! She's bleeding!"

Hana looked at him incredulously and sighed, shaking her head, "Kiba, Kiba, Kiba. She's not dead. She just fainted, you can even see that she's breathing."

"Oh…" said Kiba, fully relieved, "I thought I would have to go to jail! Or even become a missing nin! And I would be on the run for the rest of my life! And I would never see you guys ever again! Especially Hinata! Be cause she would be—"

"Kiba, if you keep squishing her she will suffocate and die for real!" interrupted Hana, for throughout his pointless chatter he had been involuntarily smothering Hinata. Kiba gasped and nearly dropped her. Hana sighed in that big sisterly way as she walked over and picked Hinata up gently. "What in the name of God made you decide to kill Hinata using our front door? There better not be blood on it."

Sniffling Kiba replied, "I wanted to have a birthday surprise party…but I guess Hinata was a little too surprised."

"Pfft. You got that right," said Hana as she carried Hinata over to the couch in the living room.

Inwardly Shino agreed, but then something clicked.

"Wait. You said 'Birthday Surprise Party'" stated Shino.

"Yeah," said Kiba, "That's why I wanted to surprise you guys."

"…But whose birthday is it?"

"Mine of course!" replied Kiba with a little more enthusiasm, recovering from his little cry. But then frowned slightly, "…well actually it's not really my birthday. My birthday is in July, but I wanted to celebrate it with you guy because you guys are my bestest buddies, but back in July I didn't know you guys so I couldn't really have a party with you and I just got Akamaru, so I wanted to celebrate that too. So technically this is more of a Kiba and Akamaru Birthday Surprise Party than a…"

At this point Shino started to tune Kiba out and go to his world of bugs and buzzing, which was being inhabited by Shino less and less recently when he was brought back to reality by two words. Swimming. Pool. Surely Kiba couldn't be referring to today. To this party. Surely Kiba wasn't trying to suggest that Shino was to go swimming? In a pool? With water? Shino? Swimming? No, surely not. He must have misheard. But still, it all fit, a surprise, Kiba in scuba gear, and those words that he thought he would never hear.

"What?" asked Shino faintly for the second time that day praying that he had misheard.

"I said that we are having a Super Special Awesome Kiba and Akamaru Swimming Pool Surprise Party, and you and Hinata are invited!

For Shino those were possibly the worst words in the world, tragically rolled into one sentence. Shino felt winded by merely the impact of those words. It was as though the sky was falling. It was the apocalypse. No, it was the MOTHER of all apocalypses. And for the second time—or possibly third, if you count the instance in which Shino could not believe the stupidity of Kiba—that Shino went into shock that day.


	14. Chapter 14: The Shame of All Shorts

Chapter 14: The Shame of all Shorts

**Chapter 14: The Shame of all Shorts**

"HELLOOOO!? EARTH TO SHINOOO!" bellowed Kiba, as he waved his hand in front of Shino's face in a vain attempt to snap Shino out of his stupor, which would be quite impossible because Shino was slowly sinking deeper and deeper into the pits of despair. Kiba waved his hand for a few seconds longer before giving up and deciding to check up on Hinata who was lying, unconscious on the couch while Hana administered first aid to her forehead.

"Sis, will she live?" asked Kiba worriedly, because Hinata had still not come around.

"Yes," answered Hana, sounding quite exasperated, "Now will you stop asking that every five seconds? My answer is not going to change. She will be fine. She will live. She won't bleed to death. Or go into a coma. Or have permanent brain damage. Or amnesia. Or start hallucinating. Okay? So just stop asking!"

Just as that had been said, Hinata stirred. Groaning slightly, her eyelids fluttered open.

Kiba gasped as though he had sincerely thought Hinata would never awaken—and seeing how Kiba is SO overly dramatic this was probably the case.

"See I told you," said Hana somewhat smugly, "I'm going to finish getting ready, 'kay?" And with that she left the room.

"Ouch…" said Hinata weakly. Putting a hand to her forehead, and feeling the band-aid.

"Hinata? Are you going to live?" asked Kiba with much concern in his voice.

"Yes," said Hinata as she sat up, trying her best at reassuring smile.

"Oh Hinata!! I AM SO SORRY!! CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?!" wailed Kiba as he clutched her hands in desperation, "I didn't MEAN to hit you with the door!! OR cause you to BLEED!! I DON'T EVEN DESERVE YOUR FORGIVENESS!! HOW COULD I HURT SUCH A FORGIVING FRIEND?!"

"O-oh…Kiba I f-forgive you," Hinata murmured, blushing embarrassedly for they were holding hands.

"TH-THANK-YOU!" Kiba sobbed dramatically.

"Oh… You're very welcome," said Hinata awkwardly.

Excluding Kiba's sobs, there was an extremely awkward silence. Shino was still in the depths of despair, Kiba was still clutching Hinata's hands and Hinata was sitting there on the couch feeling extremely, well, awkward. Feeling that it was her job to distract her friend Kiba from his unhappiness—for which she felt she was to blame—and ultimately cheer him up and show him that she had forgiven him, she tried to think of a light conversational topic, but was unable to find a suitable one. Think Hinata, think!

"Kiba," she tried politely, "Why are you wearing your swimsuit?" She felt this was a reasonable question because firstly, she was truly curious, and secondly it seemed like something that would get his mind off of his sorrows.

"Oh," sniffed Kiba, wiping his eyes and cheering up a bit, "Because we are going to the swimming pool."

"Oh, r-really?" asked Hinata not sure of what to do, because she had forgotten her swimsuit. She didn't _think_ that Kiba had told her to, but if he had and she forgot she would feel ever so silly. "Kiba," she said rather ashamedly, as though it was her fault, "I forgot my swimsuit."

"Oh, really? Well that's okay, you can just borrow one of mine!"

"W-what?" stuttered Hinata, her face turning red. She was a _girl_. She couldn't wear a _boy's_ swimwear. That would be scandalous! That is something that is just not done. Hinata was astounded that Kiba could overlook something like that.

Meanwhile Kiba was puzzled by Hinata's reaction. After all, he had been nice enough to offer one of his.

They were both so wrapped up in their thoughts that they didn't even notice Hana walk into the room until she bopped Kiba on the noggin.

"Kiba!" she said sounding outraged, "_Hinata_ can't wear one of _your _swimsuits, she's a girl!!"

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief and was immediately grateful that Kiba's sister understood her situation. After all, they are both girls.

"What?" demanded Kiba, who was clearly oblivious, "WHY NOT?"

"You'll understand when you are older," replied Hana in that older sisterly way, then turned to Hinata, "Don't worry, you can borrow one of my old swimsuits. I'm sure I can find one that will fit you. Follow me." With that she left the room. Hinata then excused herself and followed but almost bumped into her when she stopped and turned to Kiba. "Mom said you're not supposed to wear your scuba flippers in the house," she admonished before leaving.

"Aww man…" pouted Kiba as he begrudgingly took them off.

Meanwhile, Shino and Akamaru were having a staring contest of sorts. Well, you couldn't really call it a staring contest because Akamaru's eyes were closed and Shino was wearing sunglasses so even if he cheated you wouldn't be able to tell. So, it wasn't a staring contest at all, but hey, I have the right to dream. Nonetheless, they were facing each other keeping quite silent and quite still.

Then Akamaru barked, breaking the silence.

The sudden noise brought Shino back from the depths of despair with one single most important thought: I have to escape. He knew what would happen if he was submerged in water, and believe you me, it would not be a pretty sight.

Shino looked around frantically for an escape route. The door? Or perhaps the window? The door, he decided. With much haste, he turned around only to come face to face with Kiba.

"Where are you going?" asked Kiba brightly.

"Uuh…" stalled Shino as his eyes frantically searched for another escape route.

"You have to get your swimsuit on too!"

"Uhh… I forgot mine too… I'll just go home and…" He knew this excuse was extremely weak.

"Nonsense!" interrupted Kiba, "You can just borrow one of mine!" And just like that, Shino's defense was shattered leaving him at Kiba's mercy. With Akamaru barking in agreement, he grabbed Shino's arm and dragged him down the hall and up the stairs, closer and closer to his doom.

Shino, of course, like all of the Aburame clan members, is good at many things. For example: fighting, communicating with bugs, being mysterious, controlling bugs, showing little or no emotion on his face, fighting with bugs, staring contests, etc. However, you will notice that this particular clan's members are extremely bad at communicating with other people. They always prefer to use two words instead of twenty-five. This is why many people do not know of or understand their talents. Their lack of verbal communication skills is ultimately their downfall. This is why Shino froze, unsure of what to say or do.

He did not know how to make Kiba truly understand his intense mix of fear and loathing for water. He was unable to express himself when it truly counted.

Shino had never really learned to open up to other people. He always just assumed that people would respect his boundaries, leaving him alone—and he was happy that way. But then, when Kiba and Hinata entered into his life everything changed. He was no longer living an existence with boundaries; he was no longer completely independent of others. Shino was no longer always alone, with his bugs.

Instead, he found himself relying on others, spending time with them, and learning to open up to them little by little. Shino, although he was an extremely anti-social Aburame clan member, had two good friends.

So, instead of expressing himself through words like regular people often do, Shino completely bypassed that option and decided to use his many talents to express himself through his actions and make his escape. He could not make his escape slow, because Kiba might attempt to restrain him and demand he explain himself, which would involve talking and expressing himself, which he hated. Also, he would have to take into account the fact that Akamaru was there, and being a ninja dog—albeit an untrained one—he would no doubt be able to sense trouble and hinder his plan; possibly by calling in more canine reinforcements. Therefore, his escape would have to be sudden, swift, and without hesitation. He would also have to make sure to act natural, so that no one would catch wind of his plan before he put it into action. Shino concluded that the best way to escape this situation was to resort to violence. The plan was thus: using his bugs as a distraction, he would control them to swarm out of his coat and attack anyone who tried to stop him as he escaped via the nearest exit. It was foolproof. He felt certain he could pull it off. After all, he was second in the class. Now all he had to do was wait for the opportune moment.

Just as he put the finishing touches on his plan they arrived in Kiba's room. It was much messier than the last time he had seen it, when he and Hinata went to visit Kiba the time when he had suffered head injuries.

"Alright!" said Kiba cheerily, "Now let me just find my other swim shorts!"

Now, as a ninja, many situations arise where you are required to take and hold hostages, for extended periods of time. Many a ninja do not succeed in this regard, because they fail to remember these three simple rules. The first and most important rule you are taught is that you must never take your eyes off a captive. Secondly, you should never allow yourself to be pulled into their mind games. Thirdly, and most importantly, you are NEVER to give them any chance to escape.

Even though Kiba didn't think of Shino as his captive, Shino thought of himself as one. As I have mentioned, Shino is second in the class. Kiba's scores are, let's just say, far far lower. In fact, he is near the end of the list. This is why he failed to remember how to keep a captive captive. He didn't remember to apply the rules that he learned—or rather, didn't learn—at the academy to real life.

This is why he made the one possibly fatal mistake. A mistake that, though small, could mean life or death to a ninja. A mistake that a smarter ninja wouldn't make. A mistake that Kiba never would have made if only he had listened to Iruka-sensei once in a while. A mistake that Shino was fully ready to take advantage of. Kiba let go of Shino's arm. Shino smiled. Too easy.

In that instant, Shino shifted to a fighting stance, and was about to set his bugs upon the oblivious and ridiculously happy Kiba when Akamaru started to bark in what appeared to be a warning. Shino narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses. Whatever this was, it could not be good—not good for Shino's escape plan anyway.

Kiba, who of course could understand Akamaru, stopped and looked at him suspiciously. Then responded, "That's ridiculous! Shino would NEVER hide swarms of insects inside his coat and wait for the opportune moment to AMBUSH me with them causing BODILY HARM and/or DEATH!!" Right Shino!?" this last part was, of course, directed at Shino.

Shino looked at Kiba, and, feeling slightly guilty, for Akamaru's warning—excluding the part about death—was indeed true, Shino nodded.

"SEE Akamaru! I TOLD you!" laughed Kiba, completely oblivious to the tension in the atmosphere, "You need to have more faith in people!" This last statement caused Shino to feel even more guilt.

Akamaru barked and then growled.

"That's NOT nice Akamaru!!" argued Kiba, "You should NEVER tell someone they smell like BUGS even if they do! And especially not my very bestest friend!"

Shino was somewhat taken aback by this. No, not that Kiba actually noticed that someone was being rude—although that _did_ surprise Shino somewhat—or that Kiba was defending him, but that Akamaru could actually smell the bugs hidden inside his coat. Apparently, Akamaru was sharper—in both mind and sense of smell—than he had predicted. He had underestimated him. But, rest assured, it would not happen again.

"Apologize to Shino!" demanded Kiba.

Akamaru barked defiantly.

"Say you're sorry or we'll go to the pool without you," Kiba threatened.

Akamaru barked at Shino. Shino could only assume it was an apology.

"Say it like you mean it!" said Kiba.

Akamaru let out a little whine, and then barked more kindly in Shino's direction.

"Much better!" Kiba smiled, then looked at Shino expectantly. This puzzled Shino, until he clued in that he had to except the apology.

"I accept your apology," replied Shino monotonously.

"Now, back to finding those swim shorts!" and with that he turned and started to rummage through his drawers, throwing random articles of clothing in a jumbled pile on the ground.

Meanwhile, at the mention of 'swim shorts', Shino realized that because of that conversation, he had almost completely forgot about his escape, and the imminent doom that awaits him should he fail. Panic rose inside him and he had to force himself to stay calm. When he had managed to relax a little, he assured himself that there would be plenty of other opportunities to escape. For now, he would just have to go along with whatever Kiba said and wait for said opportunity to present itself. Akamaru was suspicious and Kiba was clueless, but he just had to wait for them to lower their guards. That's when he would strike.

"HERE IT IS!!" shouted Kiba excitedly as he threw a pair of swim trunks at Shino, rousing him from his thoughts. Shino looked at the shorts and saw, much to his horror, that they were fuchsia with neon orange tropical flowers up the side. Even with his tinted sunglasses on they were bright. And that's saying something!

Now, being part of the Aburame clan, Shino didn't own a pair of swim shorts, nor did he spend an awful lot of time around swimming pools or beaches, but in his opinion no pair of shorts—swimming or not—should look this ugly. He decided that they were possibly the worst pair of shorts he had ever seen. Nay, the most god-awful shorts he would ever lay eyes on in his entire life. Period. They offended him. They offended him in the extreme. But in order to lull Kiba and Akamaru into a sense of security by going along with their plan, he had to wear the shorts, even if he would rather _die_.

He looked up at Kiba. More importantly, he looked at Kiba's swim trunks. They were not ugly in the way that Shino's shorts were ugly, but nevertheless Shino would not be caught dead wearing them either. They were green and covered in little fairies, and Shino could only assume that it had something to do with Peter Pan. I mean, why else would a boy have a fairies on his shorts.

Then Shino noticed the huge pile at Kiba's feet. By now, most of the contents of his drawers were in a crumpled mess on the floor, but Kiba was smiling from ear to ear.

"Alright, now you just go get changed in the bathroom." Said Kiba. Well, at least he had SOME respect for other's privacy.

Shino didn't move. In his mind, he had agreed to accept whatever Kiba could dish out before he escaped, but these shorts were too extreme. And if he did escape while wearing these shorts, he would have to wear them all the way home. He did not want to subject the world or himself to such torture. These shorts were better off burned, the ashes locked inside a box inside a box inside a box, and then thrown in the ocean so that human eyes may NEVER look upon them EVER AGAIN.

"Well c'mon! What are you waiting for?!" urged Kiba as he began to shove an extremely reluctant Shino towards the door. Shino dug his heels into the carpet in an effort to prolong the moment before he would have to wear the worst shorts in the universe.

At first Kiba made very little progress in his quest to push Shino towards his doom, but then Akamaru joined in and Shino inched his way closer and closer towards the door. Just as they got to the doorframe, Kiba gave a mighty push, causing Shino to trip and fall flat on his face, and Kiba, who was now off-balance to fall on top of him. Akamaru felt left out so he jumped on top of them.

"_What_ are you two _doing_?!" asked Kiba's sister in great annoyance, "You are _supposed_ to be getting ready!" She was now dressed in a grey and red floral bikini—red flowers on a grey background, just for further clarification. Hinata, who was standing next to her, was wearing a one piece camouflage patterned bathing suit, looking slightly more nervous than usual, which probably had to do with the revealing-ness of her swimwear—which although it was not very revealing, was too revealing for the extremely shy Hinata—and the fact that Kiba had fallen on top of Shino, which she thought was quite embarrassing. Hana and Hinata had, of course, finished finding swimwear for themselves and had walked around the corner just in time to witness both boys tumbling headfirst through the doorway and landing in a pile on the floor. Hana was not impressed.

Kiba removed himself from on top of Shino, causing Akamaru to slide to the floor. "We were just having some fun!" pouted Kiba, his dog barking in agreement.

"Yeah? Well you can have fun at the pool—what? _How_ did you find those _awful_ shorts!?" Hana exclaimed, for, of course, when Shino had gotten up the shorts had been revealed.

Shino looked up at Hana. Apparently he wasn't the only one who was offended by those shorts. Then he decided to glare at Kiba from behind his glasses for good measure.

"I found them at the bottom of my drawers!" said Kiba happily, totally missing the insult to the shorts.

"What do you mean you found them at the bottom of your drawers! Don't tell me you took all of the—" Hana stopped dead mid-sentence. As you might have guessed, being the curious and somewhat nosey sort of sister, Hana went to investigate while she was still speaking. Naturally, she was shocked by what she found. Not only had she seen the one pair of shorts that she had tried to hide from human eyes, but also the crumpled pile of clothes on the floor in Kiba's room. Her reaction was somewhat expected. She slapped forehead and gripped the doorframe for support, her knuckles whitening.

"Kiba," she said, her voice shaking as she tried to convey all her fury in those two short syllables, "Clean up this mess now, or you we'll go swimming without you. In the meantime, I'll find some swimwear for Shino." After motioning for Shino to follow her she whipped around and left the room.

"Aww maaan…" Kiba groaned as he set to work refolding all of the clothes and putting them back in their rightful places.

"U-um," piped up Hinata, "I'll help you." Although she knew her father probably wouldn't want her touching strange boys' clothes—especially their underwear—she felt that she should still help out a friend in need.

"Thanks Hinata," said Kiba.

"You're welcome," she murmured, blushing.

Hana opened a cupboard at the end of the hall and started to rummage through it. Shino was still holding the offensive shorts.

"I can't believe he found those shorts after I went to all the trouble of burying them at the bottom of his drawers," muttered Hana, "I was hoping he wouldn't find them and we could all forget they ever existed." Then she sighed sadly, "Kiba has absolutely NO sense of colour coordination whatsoever. I mean, I STILL have to pick out his clothes for him every morning so he doesn't go outside wearing some dreadfully clashing colour combo. In that regard he's almost as bad as the dogs who BOUGHT him the horrible shorts." At the word 'dogs' she glared at Kuromaru, who had been sitting further down the hall.

Kuromaru barked indignantly.

"Yes Kuromaru, I'm sure they DO look better in black and white," replied Hana, "Just, next time, don't go shopping without me." Just in case you didn't know, dogs see in black and white. "Now where is that…?" she trailed off as she plunged her arm especially far into the cupboard, pulling out a pair shorts of striped chocolate brown and a lighter brown. "AHA! There they are!" she exclaimed, then handed them to Shino, "These will probably fit you. You can get changed in the bathroom at the other end of the hall. Now just give me the other ones…which I should probably burn and bury so that Kiba will NEVER find them EVER again."

As he walked down the hall towards the bathroom, Shino decided that these shorts were much better than the shorts he was previously holding. They would be perfect to escape in because he wouldn't draw nearly as much attention to himself wearing brown as he would have wearing fuchsia and neon orange.

When he got to the bathroom and took off his coat he immediately realized a problem: where would he put the bugs that he normally keeps inside his coat? He couldn't just leave them in his coat, but he also couldn't wear his coat to the pool, it would be too suspicious. Shino shrugged as he put on the shorts and transferred the coat dwelling part of his bug colony inside his body and t-shirt—he didn't want Kiba's _nice_ shorts to become _too_ infested with bugs. He supposed that would just have to do.

Picking up his coat and other belongings, he also realized that, in order to make a quick escape, he would have to have his belongings close at hand.

He opened the door of the bathroom and walked back towards Kiba's room. Kiba and Hinata were almost finished cleaning the pile of clothes. Since there was so little left and Shino felt that people should clean up their own messes, he didn't bother helping.

"Hey Shino!" shouted Kiba, even though Shino was standing only two feet away, "Guess what?! Hinata taught me how to fold shirts!! It seems that I have been doing it wrong my WHOLE LIFE!" He said this as though it was the most exciting thing in the world and as if he actually had been capable of folding since birth. Shino rolled his eyes behind his glasses in response.

Within about two minutes, the folding was finished and the four of them went downstairs, where they found Hana stuffing some large towels into a bag that couldn't possibly contain them.

She looked up and asked, "You ready?"

"YEAH!" shouted Kiba, as Akamaru barked enthusiastically, "LET"S GOOOO!!"

And with that they were on their way.


	15. Chapter 15: Into the Drink

**Chapter 15: Into the Drink**

Shino, Kiba, Hinata, Hana, and all the dogs stood at the bus stop. They would have taken a car, but Hana lacks the ability to drive one. And if you are wondering why they didn't run there like the energetic and exercise loving ninjas that we know they are, I'm just as confused as you are.

They had been waiting for more than ten minutes already. During period Kiba had told Hinata and Shino at least six different stories about random occasions on which he had done various peculiar things—like falling in the toilet, dressing like a girl, forgetting where his house was, and eating using utensils, among other things. Needless to say, these stories had little purpose but to pass the time while they waited for the bus.

Now, I said that he told these stories to both Hinata and Shino, but Shino, as you might have guessed, wasn't really listening. He was far too busy pondering about the events up until now that had caused him to become 'bestest friends' with Kiba of all people and ultimately land him in this predicament. As he recalled, he, Shino, was minding his own business—and that of his bugs—when he was suddenly interrupted by Kiba who asked him a stupid question and then decided they should be best friends. I mean, he could have become friends with someone completely different, but fate thought it would be a great practical joke to stick Shino of all people with the loudest kid on the planet—at least, in Shino's opinion.

He pondered a bit more until his thoughts turned to Kiba and the snot incident…what HAD caused him to wipe his nose on Shino's sleeve and afterwards Hinata's sleeve in the first place? He thought for a moment until it came back to him. Oh yes, he remembered it vividly…

"_He's a dog! All of us Inuzukas have dogs! Didn't you know?_

"…_Then why don't you have a dog?" asked Shino, who did indeed have a suspicious look on his face—not that you could tell! It's hidden!! _

"…_Because… b-because…" but he was overcome by sorrow and couldn't complete his sentence. As Kiba's eyes filled up with tears, Shino almost felt sorry for him—ALMOST._

_Kiba, after having finished his little cry, then took the edge of Shino's coat and BLEW HIS NOSE ON IT!!!_

…It made him wonder why Kiba was so overcome with sorrow. To Shino, it was so odd that the happiest and most oblivious person that he knew could break down into tears just like that over a simple question. So he just HAD to ask.

"Kiba," he then asked, possibly interrupting one of Kiba's extremely interesting stories, "Why did you not have a dog before? You said that all Inuzukas have dogs."

"Oh," replied Kiba, looking from his dog to Shino and then back again, "That's easy, I was just too young apparently…" he said simply with a smile.

"…I see," said Shino, unbelieving of the answer. He said it so casually NOW, but before he had CRIED about it. ARG. That was the stupidest reason he had ever heard. Shino could not understand Kiba at all.

Hinata couldn't believe what she was hearing either. Although she is indeed a very sensitive and sympathetic person, even she found this answer slightly far-fetched. I mean, understanding has a limit, and this was most certainly it.

While they were standing there, being unable to comprehend Kiba the bus pulled up.

"C'mon you guys," said Hana as she got onto the bus and paid fare for herself and all of the people and dogs in her care.

The bus driver gave them all a questioning gaze because they were bringing a whole bunch of dogs onto the bus. He was about to kick them off the bus when he saw the eldest girl's forehead protector and thought the better of it. He remembered back to the first and last time he had attempted to kick a ninja off the bus. Basically it resulted in him getting kicked him off the bus and then being beat up. On top of that, the ninjas drove away in his bus and never returned. Not a pleasant memory. This is why he vowed that he would treat all ninjas with the utmost courtesy, to avoid such an incident to be repeated. A wise choice.

The ninjas and dogs headed to the back of the bus, where they were able to find seats together.

They weren't seated for more than five seconds when Kiba asked his sister in his usual loud fashion, "Are we there yet?"

"Ugh," sighed Hana, putting her hand on her forehead, "We'll be there in 5 minutes."

Meanwhile, Hinata was looking at Akamaru longingly. Hinata was clearly a sucker for cute things as most girls her age are, and it was obvious to Shino that she wanted to hold the puppy, but was probably too timid to ask. Time for Shino intervention!

"Kiba, let Hinata hold Akamaru," said Shino. It was not a question.

"Oh," said Hinata shyly, "If it would be all right…"

"Well sure!" Kiba shouted happily, much to the annoyance of the other people on the bus, "Why didn't you ask?"

"U-umm…"

"Here!" exclaimed Kiba, thrusting Akamaru into her arms, not even bothering to wait for her answer. If not for the fact that she was a ninja with elite reflexes, she probably would have dropped Akamaru.

Akamaru barked in what appeared to be annoyance. Shino assumed that it was probably in protest of being practically thrown into Hinata's arms.

"I did NOT throw you across the bus!" argued Kiba, "You just exaggerate EVERYTHING!"

Akamaru barked again.

This argument continued for the entire bus ride (which was actually not that long) to the pool. What's that? In your entire time of watching or reading Naruto you've never heard of Konoha's amazing public pool? Well I'm telling you now that it does exist. Believe it!

They got off the bus, much to the relief of the other passengers and walked a short distance to the pool. They grabbed three unoccupied sun chairs and threw their stuff onto them.

"Well," said Hana, "I'm going to suntan, you guys have fun swimming." With that she spread out her towel, laid down and closed her eyes.

"YAHOOOO!!!" shouted Kiba as he tore off his shirt, turned and ran towards the pool, only to get stopped by the lifeguard for running on the deck. He continued his journey to the pool in slow-motion—causing the life-guard to roll his eyes—with a crazy grin on his face before taking a dramatic leap into the shallow end of the pool. It's a good thing he's a ninja, otherwise he would have had a serious injury.

Perfect, thought Shino, this has given me a perfect chance to escape. He turned to leave, when he heard Kiba hollering from the other side of the pool. "CANONBAAAAAAAAAAALLLLL!!! YAHOOOOOO!!!" Kiba and his many dogs all jumped into the pool causing many of the patrons to flee the resulting tidal wave. Water splashed out of the pool onto the area directly beside Shino. Had been positioned just a few feet to his left he would have been soaked.

"Um," murmured Hinata after a semi-awkward silence, not sure what to do or why Shino had frozen as the sight of water. "Shall we go?" she offered politely to Shino, gesturing towards the pool.

"…" said Shino. Momentarily thanking his lucky stars.

"Shino?" she inquired hesitantly.

Shino decided to ignore her and make a somewhat hasty escape. He spun on his heels and started forward only to come face to face with an absolutely soaking Kiba. Shino immediately stepped back, not wanting to get dripped on, only to have his plans thwarted by Kiba shaking like a dog. Shino backpedaled even more throwing his arms up to guard his face—which, if you could see it, wore an expression of pure disgust! (Of course this is Shino we're talking about, so his expression would look mostly like it usually does, but with a slight lip curl and furrowing of the eyebrows.) In his haste to be clear of the spray, he knocked into Hinata, who fell into the shallow end of the pool.

For Hinata, this came as quite a surprise. Most people do not react to water like vampires to the sun. 'Could it be that Shino was afraid of water?' she thought as she fell, 'Oh dear!' Splash.

Shino whipped around to look behind him and realized that he was mere inches from the edge of the dreaded pool. There was only minimal sympathy in him for Hinata's accident. 'After all', he thought, 'better her than me.'

"WOOO!!!" laughed Kiba, "That's the spirit Hinata! Show Shino how it's done!" Apparently missing the fact that she had not jumped in willingly while he was shaking off.

Shino whipped his head around to look back Kiba, only to find he was wearing an extremely mischievous smile and crouching down. 'Oh no!' Shino thought, instantly realizing what Kiba was about to do, 'anything but that'. A split-second later, Kiba had thrown himself at Shino in a flying tackle, yelling wildly. Shino had no time to react and was hit squarely in the chest, falling backwards into the pool with a huge, wet splash. To make matter worse, he fell directly on top of Hinata, who was just coming up for air after her unfortunate fall into the drink.

In the moment that Shino was submerged, time seemed to stand still.

And then it was chaos, as a billion bugs attempted to flee Shino's body all at once. The bugs scrambled across the surface of the pool, causing pandemonium with the other patrons. Much screaming ensued as people fled the insects in mass hysteria. The entire pool—minus our three main characters—was emptied of people in approximately 10 seconds flat. (And if you're wondering how they managed it that fast, I will remind you that it is a ninja village after all.)

Kiba and Hinata burst through the surface of the bugs, only to have mass amounts of them climb onto their heads in an vain attempt to reach safety. Hinata was in shock, not only did a boy fall on top of her, but she was covered in bugs! These sorts of things never ever happened at the Main House Private Swimming Pool!

Kiba shouted exuberantly, "AWESOME!!! THAT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME!!! DID YOU SEE ALL THOSE BUGS?! AND THE SCREAMING PEOPLE!!! THE LOOKS ON THEIR FACES SHINO?! AHAHAHA!" He laughed so hard that were he on solid ground he would surely be rolling on the floor. After a few seconds of silence he looked around. "Shino…?" he inquired.

But he only saw Hinata, Shino was nowhere in sight.

Meanwhile, the lifeguard was freaking out. Never in his entire career as a lifeguard (which is by the way very prestigious) had he ever encountered a scenario quite like this one. Mass hysteria, people fleeing the pool, an insect infestation, and now, to top it all off, a drowning kid! This was never in the lifeguard manual! He had got the job so he could have an excuse to show off his manly shirtless self and flirt with bodacious babes, there was no way he was going to jump into a sea of bugs! 'Dude', he thought, 'this is just not my day!'

Suddenly, one of the bodacious babes shoved him to the deck with strength he would have thought impossible for her slim frame, and dove into the pool. In mere seconds she had managed to rescue and resuscitate the boy who was the cause of all this.

"Duuuude," said the lifeguard (sounding like someone out of 'Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure')

* * *

"You are henceforth all banned from the public pool, indefinitely," decreed Konoha's Health Department Representative, who was very filled with rage.

"But that's un—" Kiba started to shout before his much wiser sister clamped her hand over his mouth, muffling the sound of his voice.

Banned from swimming? That suited Shino just fine. He planned to never even so much as look at a swimming pool ever again. Poor Shino, his bugs, which had been severely reduced in number by this incident, were no doubt plotting a rebellion inside his body. Many had been salvaged from the pool, but they were none too pleased, and Shino knew he would be dealing with numerous bug bites for weeks to come.

The ninjas were all sitting in the office, wrapped in towels. (The dogs waited outside, much to Hana's annoyance)

"I am calling all of your parents to pick you up immediately! I wish never have to see any of you ever again!" He sat down, picking up the phone and dialing the numbers of their respective families. 'Those Aburames and Inuzukas,' he thought, 'they're always bad news'.

Hinata paled (were that even possible seeing how pale her skin already is!). Call her father?! Whatever would she do? She was sure to get into deep trouble for being caught up in a public incident, much less being allied with the cause of it! But who would have ever thought that Shino would be hiding so many bugs in his body? Hinata never suspected that many would come out. I mean, she remembered none too fondly the time when a swarm of them flew out of his lunchbox, and since then had done some research on the Aburame family, but the sheer number of the was enough to make her skin crawl.

They sat in silence. Or mostly silence anyway. Kiba was grumbling something about being banned from the pool.

Not to long after the dreaded parents showed up. And of course the overly protective, Mr. Hyuuga was the first to arrive. He was livid.

"Hinata," he said, the anger clear in his voice, "We are going home. Right. Now." Each word had the piercing impact of a thousand knives.

Hinata wordlessly followed them, giving Kiba a weak smile before disappearing out the door.

"Bye Hinata!" he called loudly, "Lets go swimming again real soon!" apparently forgetting the 'unfortunate ban'.

This earned him a smack on the head from his sister. Which started a loud argument the Shino largely ignored. It was getting really heated up when Mr. Aburame and Mrs. Inuzuka arrived at approximately the same time.

"Shino," said Shino's father, looking disappointed in his son—not that the majority of people would be able to tell, as his voice and face showed little emotion.

Shino got up silently, as per usual, and followed his father out the door of the office. He could hear the Health inspector and Mrs. Inuzuka getting into a heated argument about swimming pool regulations regarding ninja dogs. The Aburame pair felt that they didn't really want to stay, seeing how arguments involve talking, and we all know their dislike for talking.

They made it halfway down the hall before Kiba rushed out the office door shouting, "Bye Shino!!! Let's go swimming again real soon! But next time remind me to bring you an inner tube so you don't sink like a rock!"

Shino the corner of Shino's mouth twitched into a slight smile. Idiot Kiba never understood when to be serious.


	16. Chapter 16: Phonecalls

**AN**: This is my first author's note ever and it is addressed to all the people who read my fic from the beginning before I went on a long unexplained hiatus. I would like to apologize to you who decided to come back and continue reading. Thank you for the support!

A few days ago while cleaning out my inbox, I came across an unread comment about this story. In truth, I hadn't really forgotten about it, but I hadn't had the initiative to work on it for a long time... But reading the comment made me realize the numerous times I have really gotten into reading another story only to find that halfway though the author leaves it incomplete. And it makes me sad thinking that my story could end up like that.

Thus, I have decided to tackle this story with a renewed effort in an attempt to finish it so I may move on and stop feeling guilty.

Besides, I pretty much have the entire story planned out in my mind anyway.

So without further ado, I present to you chapter 16:

* * *

**Chapter 16: Phonecalls**

Ring, ring.

The phone rang. Causing Shino to look up from his homework.

It rang again. Shino realized that if he didn't pick it up no one else would, since his father was on a mission and rarely picked up the phone anyway even if he was home.

He sighed and made a move towards the phone. Ever since he obtained some friends, the phone was ringing more and more frequently. It was getting to the point where he wanted to unplug the thing.

He picked up the receiver and put it to his ear. "…Hello?" he said after a few seconds.

"Hello. This is Mr. Hyuuga, I was hoping to have a word with your father. Is he in?" asked the family head in short clipped tones. He was sounding even less pleased than normal, which is saying a lot.

"He's on a mission," Shino replied, hoping that would end the conversation.

"I see," he said. Shino could just picture his eyes narrowing and mouth tightening. "Well, could you kindly inform him when he is back that I wish to speak to him in person about the criminal activities that you and your pesky Inuzuka comrade have been involving my daughter in. As heir to the Main House of the Hyuuga family my daughter cannot have a criminal record, as it would forever tarnish the Hyuuga family name. Do not contact my daughter outside of school. Good day." The phone was hung up with an audible slam. Apparently someone was not having a 'Good day'.

After a few seconds Shino hung up the phone. If he was going to tell Shino directly over the phone, then what was the point of asking to speak to his father in person? I mean really.

Shino turned to go back to his homework and decided to conveniently forget to tell his father about Mr. Hyuuga's phonecall. The sole purpose of the call was to ensure that someone 'talk to Shino about his criminal ways', but really, he had already been disciplined by his father. He remembered it none too fondly…

"_Shino," said Mr. Aburame simply when they got home, "You should know better." Then he stared at Shino for a few moments before walking away, leaving Shino standing there alone in the front hall of their house. He may have only said a grand total of five words, but it was five more words than he usually says. These words were more effective than the hundred he would possibly receive from Hinata's father. They really hit home. Only in the Aburame family could a reprimanding be given with less than ten words. _

The Aburames were firm believers that actions spoke louder than words, but they still believed that sometimes, words were more effective. And being one who is known to rarely speak, when Mr. Aburame did speak, it was only when it was of great importance and could not be conveyed with a simple facial expression (or lack thereof).

Shino sighed and returned to his work. Scratching absentmindedly at the back of his neck. That was another form of punishment not so easily forgotten. His bugs had exacted revenge upon him by giving him numerous painful and itchy bug bites. That was definitely a lesson he would not soon forget.

Ring, ring.

Shino sighed. After this call he was definitely unplugging the phone.

He reached over and picked up the phone hoping to god it was not—

"HELLOOOOO?!" shouted a very familiar voice from the end of the phone. Kiba. Great.

"Yes?" said Shino, sounding slightly more irritated than usual. He was talking to the cause of his recent near death experience after all.

"Shino my bestest buddy!!!" he shouted obnoxiously into the receiver, even though Shino could here him just fine. Shino held the phone a foot from his head, not wanting to go deaf before his time.

"…"

"I have come up with a SUPER AWESOME PLAN!"

"…"

"Guess what it is!!!" he shouted after Shino's lack of response.

"…what?"

Shino could hear excited dog barking in the background.

"YOU'LL HAVE TO COME OVER AND FIND OUT!!!" and then Kiba slammed the phone back onto the hook.

Shino continued to hold the phone in shock until he heard it start beeping at him. Then he slowly hung up. He couldn't believe his ears. Did Kiba still think of him as his 'bestest buddy' even after the pool incident? Could he really be that forgetful or …no wait, yes he could. This was Kiba we are talking about after all. Shino thought back to the snot incident and how Kiba forgot that Shino punched him thinking that evil ninjas attacked him in his sleep. He easily could have forgotten.

He also noticed that everything they did ended in an incident.

Would this time be any different? 'No,' thought Shino sadly, shaking his head, 'most likely not."

But would he go anyway? 'Most likely yes,' hethought as he unplugged the phone to prevent future incidents of talking in his quiet home. They were 'bestest buddies' after all.


End file.
